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S E a M N s. 



BY 



RICHARD FULLER, D.D., 



O F BALTIM OBE, 




NEW YORK: 
SHELDON & COMPANY. 

BALTIMORE:— GITEAU <fe SULLIVAN, 

73 WEST FAYETTE STREET. 

1860. 






Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S59, by 

EICHARD FULLER, D.D., 

In the Clerk's 05ice of the District Court of the United States, for the 
District of Maryland. 



Stereotyped jjy Pbinted BY 

- HTII & SO*, BlLLIN & BKOTnES, 

32 & 84 Beekman Street. 20 Nor:h William St. 



♦ DEDICATION. 

These discourses are given, I believe, very much as 
they were, delivered. That they would be improved by 
some patient pruning and recasting, I make no doubt ; 
but incessant and arduous duties leave me no leisure for 
this. And, moreover, I prefer to publish them as they 
were preached. I dedicate them to the two churches 
and congregations in which my pastoral life has been, 
spent. With the church in Beaufort, South Carolina, 
my ministry commenced ; with that in Baltimore, I 
hope, it will be finished. This volume I beg them to 
accept, as an expression- — though utterly inadequate — 
of my undying love and gratitude. 

RICHARD "FULLER. 
Baltimore, Md., October 1, 1859. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



SERMON I. 

THE LONESOMENESS*OF THE REDEEMER. 

PAGE 

u I have trodden the wine-press alone ; and of the people ther£ was ' 
none with me." — Isaiah, lxiii. 3. 11 



SERMON II. 

THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

11 And after eight days, again the disciples were within, and Thomas 
with them ; then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in 
the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, 
Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands ; and reach hither 
thy hand and thrust it into my side ; and be not faithless, but be- 
lieving. And Thomas answered and said unto him. My Lord, and 
my God. "—John, xx. 26, 27, 28 46 

SERMON III. 

THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

" A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another ; 
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." — John, 
xiiL 34 ?2 



V1U TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

SEEMON IV. 

THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

PAGE 

M Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage 
was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ; there- 
fore he spake and commanded that they should heat the furnace 
one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. And he 
commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind 
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the 
burning fiery furnace." — Daniel, iii. 19, 20. . . . . . 99 

SEEMON V. 

THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 

"And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God 
was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, 
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up 
into glory." — 1 Timothy, iii. 16. 

il God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing 
their trespasses unto them." — 2 Corinthians, v. 19. . . 126 

SERMON VI. 

SINFUL PLEASURES. 

u The pleasures of sin for a season." — Hebrews, xi. 25. . . . 163 
SERMON VII. 

THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST 

" For we have not an Pligh Priest which cannot be touched with the 
feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. IX 

PAGE 

are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne 
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time 
of need."— Hebrews, iv. 15, 16. . .... 188 



SERMON VIII. 

THE INSANE RICH MAN. 

1 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward 
God."— Luke, xii. 21 212 



SERMON IX. 

THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

" And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, 
while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us 
the Scriptures?"— Luke, xxiv. 32 23 1 



SERMON X. 

THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, ^o be 
tempted of the devil." — Matthew, iv. 1 265 



SERMON XL 

Jacob's ladder. 

"And he dreamed, and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and 
the top of it reached to heaven : and behold, the angels of G-od 
ascending and descending on it." — Genesis, xxviii. 12. . 299 



X TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

SERMOX XII. 

THE CROSS. 

PAGE 

" And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto 
me."— John, xii. 32. . 326 

SERMOX XIII. 

THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

" And the Desire of all nations shall come." — Haggai, ii. 7. . 358 



SERMON I. 

THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. . 

" I have trodden the wine-press alone ; and of the people there was 
none with me." — Isaiah, lxiii. 3, 

To a refined and sensitive nJlture the most painful 
lonesomeness is not the want of aid, but of sympathy. 
The absence of human assistance is, indeed, sometimes a 
great blessing ; it drives a man upon his own resources ; 
it develops in him. powers of which he was wholly uncon- 
scious ; by a sharp but healthful discipline, it trains him 
to energy, courage, decision, self-confidence ; above all, 
it educates the soul into a habit of direct communion 
with God, of immediate reliance on him. There will be 
always some imbecility of character, when placed in cir- 
cumstaiices demanding independent action, unless one 
has acquired force and strenuousness of purpose by stern 
solitary wrestling with difficulties. 

But to be lonely in the other sense, to have none to 
encourage us, or care for us, or even understand us — 
this, this is to be alone ; this is a solitude in which it is 
impossible for the human spirit long to sustain itself. 
Pride may for a while affect superiority ; and keen sensi- 
bilities always seek to conceal and protect themselves by 
a mask of stoicism. But it will not do ; it can not last ; 



12 THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

the cry for sympathy will come — an authentic voice 
m the depths of human consciousness; and if there be 

no response, heart and strength will fail in the struggle 
life. 

This sixty-third chapter of Isaiah breaks in very 
abruptly upon us. A strange vision rises suddenly before 
the prophet's eye. A lone warrior passes by him, mov- 
ing in invincible strength, gorgeously attired ; with the 
light of victory playing on his face, but all his garments 
crimsoned with blood. He is at once challenged by the 
startled seer. " Who" is this that cometh from Edorn, 
with dyed garments from Bosrah? this that is glorious 
in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength ?" 
" I that speak in righteousness mighty to save." " Where- 
fore art thou red in thine apparel/ and. thy garments like 
him that treadeth in the w r inefat ?" u I have trodden 
the wine-press alone ; and of the people there was none 
with me/' These last w r ords are our text ; they speak 
of the lonesomeness of the Eedeemer in his mediatorial 
work ; and it is this thought which I propose as the sub- 
ject of our present meditations. 

I. Now there is a morbid sentimentalism which is 
ever complaining of loneliness and want- of sympathy, 
with which the gospel has certainly no sort of sympathy. 
Let such hypochondriacs imitate Jesus ; let them rise 
above this fictitious, fantastic melancholy, and address 
themselves to a life of active benevolence, and their ro- 
se will at once disappear. The victims of 
this picturesque misery are always lamenting that nobody 
comprehends them, but this is a great mistake. Every- 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE PwEDEEMER. 13 

body understands this sort of querulous and pensive 
" ecstacy of woe/' because all have indulged it, and all 
kno*v, or ought to know, that it is only selfishness/pride, 
indolence, a want of sympathy with real miseries whic&L 
ajrpeal to us on every side for relief. 

Nor is the solitariness described in the text that of 
place. Jesus did not bury himself in a wilderness, he 
mingled freely with the multitude. Indeed, mere iso- 
lation from society is not solitude. The heart can make 
the desert or the hermit's cell populous with its own 
thoughts. The soul of the Christian is never so sure to 
find a ladder let down from heaven, and to entertain 
angels, as when, like Jacob, it communes alone with 
itself. Never is heaven so near, and the transporting 
visions of heaven so disclosed, as when, like John, we are 
surrounded by silence and solitude. It was, in fact, 
when the Saviour was most closely in contact with men, 
that he felt, and they felt, most solemnly, his mysterious 
separation from signers — from those who were " from 
beneath/' while he was " from above." 

The loneliness designated in the text was peculiar 
to the Eedeemer. Its appalling, oppressive intensity we 
never can comprehend. But we will at once feel how 
alone he was — entirely alone — insulated from all affinity 
with the whole moral and intelligent universe — if we 
consider, first, the strange phenomenon of his very being, 
the mysterious constitution of his person as " God mani- 
fest in the flesh." In this view he might emphatically 
say, " Of the people there was none with me." Myriads 
upon myriads people the vast infinitudes of creation. 



14 TllK LOtfESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

mind is overwhelmed, the imagination is bewildered, 

as they expatiate amidst the scenery of the skies ; as they 

splore those vast and inaccessible abysses — tliose 

ayefl of heaven all lighted up with fires — and recol- 
Lect that each of these luminous sparks is a planet, teem- 
ing with worshipers of the same God we adore. But in 
all this crowded population, there is nothing bearing any 

mblanoe to him — him of whom it is written, "Unto 
us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the gov- 
ernment shall be upon his shoulders, and his njame shall 
be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the* 
Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace/' All that 
magnificent architecture, those splendid orbs filling the 
unmeasured firmament, were the work of his hands. To 
him the Father says, " Thou Lord, in the beginning 
hast laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens 
are the work of thine hands ; they shall perish, but thou 
remainest ; they shall all wax old, as doth a garment ; but 
thou art the same, and thy years $hall not fail/' Of 
old, or ever the earth or one of those resplendent worlds 
was formed, he sat upon the throne of heaven, inhabiting 
the praises of eternity. There he dwelt in ineffable com- 
munion with his Father, surrounded by celestial adora- 
tions. But all this regal glory and blessedness he fore- 

— this celestial retinue — and alone he approaches the 

h to fathom the depths of our ruin, " to seek and to 
that which was lost/' " Lo, I come," he says, "a 

y hast thou prepared me." And in taking upon him 
a Buffering human frame and suffering human affections, 
he becomes a lying not only new and strange, but unique, 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 15 

solitary, perfectly alone — alone on the earth — alone in 
the universe — alone, unparalleled, in all the annals of 
eternity. As to the incarnation of a divine nature, I am 
aware that all is mystery. Eevelation has anticipated 
the cavils of skeptics here. It tells them that " without 
controversy, great is the mystery of godliness ; God mani- 
fest in the flesh." But we have nothing to do with the 
mystery. The common objections against these " deep 
things of Grod" do not show any wisdom in those who 
urge them, they only prove that our pretended philoso- 
phers do not know what true wisdom is. A knowledge 
of our ignorance is a very important department of hu- 
man wisdom. How far our finite intellects can reach, 
and what are the limits prescribed to them, this is a 
question which the enlightened theologian carefully stud- 
ies ; but which is singularly overlooked by those who 
affect to be wise above what is written. Surely it should 
make us humble, when we hear the apostle describing 
all the attainments of the most advanced Christians in 
this life as mere puerilities ; declaring that our knowl- 
edge is only a sort of ignorance, so that, hereafter, " when 
that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall 
be done atvay" — not perfected, but entirely abolished. 
Let us open the pages of inspiration in the spirit of do- 
cility, and we will confess that, however baffling to our 
thoughts, there is no truth more clearly revealed than 
the incarnation of a divine Being in the man Christ 
Jesus. 

If any one doubts this, I ask him to read, first, the 
declarations of the sacred books as to the Saviour's 



l(j Tin: LON] t THE REDEEMER. 

"Christ Jesus came into the world to 

When it is affirmed that an intelligent 

rtain point, that he might accom- 

•bject, it is 3 of course, implied 

thai before he formed this design and pro- 

3 execution. " I came forth from the Father 
I am come into the world ; again I leave the world 
I go to the Father." " What and if ye shall see the 
Son of Man ascend up where he was before ?" " Before 
raham was, I am." " The glory which I had with 
Father before the world was." Xo one will cjnes- 
i that these passages assert the Saviour's preexist- 
ence. But what was he in that original state ? Not a 
man ; for the Scriptures pronounce this the most amaz- 
ing stoop of condescension, that he was "found in fash- 
man,"" that he was in "the likeness- of sinful 
flesh." Not an angel ; for the heavenly proclamation 
required c: all the angels to worship him" even in his 
state of deep humiliation. "What, then, was he ? The 
language of the Father for ever settles this question. He 
thus addresses the Son: " Thy throne, God, is for ever 
and ever." 

Having examined these and other announcements of 

:istence, turn, now, to the account 

D of the birth of this mysterious child. We must 

.or admit that, in this narrative, the 

a^p fur granted that every thing connected 

with the nativity was preternatural, and that a " holy 

tlxing." more than human, then appeared in human flesh. 

In short, we have the most express " testimony of 



THE L0NES0MENESS OF THE KEDEEMER. 17 

God/' "In the beginning was the Word, and the 
Word was with God, and the Word was God/' "All 
things were made by him, and without him was not 
any thing made that was made." " In him was life, and 
the life was the light of men/' " And the Word was 
made flesh, and dwelt among us." " Who being in the 
form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal with 
God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon 
him the form of a servant and was. made in the likeness 
of men ; and being found in fashion as a man, he hum- 
bled himself and became obedient unto death, even the 
death of the cross." " Without controversy great is 
the mystery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh." 
I need not multiply such passages, they are familiar to 
you, and how direct and conclusive their attestation. 

Either the New Testament is a fable then, or the 
historical fact of the incarnation of a divine Being is 
certain. I am not ignorant of the absurdities which 
have been invented. I am familiar with the theories 
which have been put forth, in phrases of pompous ob- 
scurity, to explain away the union of deity and hu- 
manity in a personal Christ. But the truth shines into 
contempt all these speculative abstractions. Let johi- 
losophy refine and argue as it will, I turn to the pages 
of inspiration, and rejoice in truths which are " revealed 
to babes" in spiritual faiowledge, though hidden " from 
the wise and prudent" with all their elaborate attempts 
to find out God by the wisdom of this world. I turn to 
these hallowed pages, and there I see written as with a 
sunbeam, the mysterious but consoling announcement, 



18 THF. LONESOMKNEBfl OF THE REDEEMER. 

that the deity exists in three persons. There I find the 
Father, in his communications with man "at sundry 
times and in divers manners," always condescending to 

;d himself to our conceptions as having human feel- 
ings and affections. This, of course, is in accommoda- 
tion to our inability to comprehend a pure spirit ; but 
the fact is as I have said. He "hears/' "speaks/' "is 
v," " is pleased/' In the inspired volume the Holy 
Spirit is also disclosed as possessing the same attributes. 
He is tfc grieved/' " he is resisted/' "he speaks/' "teaches/' 
" leads." and is capable of the feelings, and performs the 
acts of a personal human agent. But as to the Son, 
there is no figurative or allegorical representation. He 
" first prefaced his appearance by occasionally assuming 
a human form, under the old dispensation ; and when 
the fulness of the time w r as come," he really took on him 
a visible humanity, and, in this, "dwelt among us;" 
working all miracles by his own innate power, himself 
the most wonderful miracle of divine power and mercy 
and love. Such was the Being who abode with the 
children of men. " The first man was of the earth 
earthy, the second man was the Lord from heaven.' 7 

And now, what a phenomenon this ; a Being formed 
of elements, existing indeed in two worlds before, but 
now, for the first time, and I venture to say, for the last 
time, mysteriously combined, ^ith reason is his name 
called "Wonderful;" for where, in the heights above, 
or in the depths beneath, can be found any likeness or 
counterpart to " this strange thing which the Lord hath 
made." Oh, in all the material creation I find nothing 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 19 

solitary. Everywhere over this entire planet, affinities 
pervade all things. And far as the eye or telescope can 
range the golden tracts above us, where suns and planets 
are scattered in such prodigal exhaustlessness, all matter 
is bound together by sympathies and sweet influences. 
Those glittering orbs all revolve in concert, and resemble 
each other, differing only as "one star differeth from 
another in glory/' 

But when "a child is born" whose name is " Mighty 
God ;" when the Creator becomes a creature, and dwells 
in poverty and sorrow upon -the earth he had formed ; 
then, then there is an unfathomed wonder which must 
for ever remain in isolated awe and grandeur. Then a 
Being mingles in human affairs, in whom are combina- 
tions to be found nowhere else in the universe ; time 
and eternity united — the finite and the infinite ; the 
Ancient of days become an Infant of days. In heaven, 
in earth, in all the cycles of the past, in all the works of 
Grod, there is nothing like this ; nothing can be in the 
same category. Here is a phenomenon which stands, 
and must for ever stand, by itself; a Being moving 
through the earth, yet not of the earth — never had the 
earth been trodden by such a form ; a man, yet fairer 
than the children of men — immeasurably above hu- 
manity ; a mortal descending into the grave, yet not of 
the grave — never had the grave received such a tenant ; 
dead, and yet "the resurrection and the life." In short, 
ascending to heaven, this amazing Being is not of heaven. 
Weakness, pain, violence, blood, death, what have these 
to do in heaven ? But he enters, however, and sits upon 



20 TllK LONESOMBNBSS OF THE REDEEMER. 

the throne, bearing marks of weakness, pain, violence, 
blood ami death ; an object of astonishment and rapture 
to all the angelic hosts. "And I beheld, and lo, in the 
midst of the throne, and of the four living creatures, and 
in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been 
slain. And I beheld, and I heard -the voice of many 
angels round about the throne, and the living creatures, 
and the elders, and the number of them was ten thou- 
sand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 
saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb that was 
slain to receive power, and wisdom, and strength, and 
honor, and glory, and blessing/ " 

II. This great mystery of godliness of which I have 
attempted to speak is, you know, the burden of prophecy, 
the rapture of Apostles and Evangelists. Of course — 
having no ideas, no illustrations, but those gathered from 
the earth — it is impossible not to fail on such a theme. 
AYho can utter the mighty acts of the Lord ? who can 
show forth his praise ? Above all, who can compass 
this most amazing stoop and self-abasement ? I have 
said enough, however, to denote the solitude in which 
the God-man was necessarily placed by his very nature. 
I pass, now, to a second view of this mysterious Being. 
In his all-comprehending mind there was, of course, an 
adequate motive for thus taking on our humanity. He 
came into the world on an enterprise of vast importance. 
And in reference to this enterprise, with what painful 
emphasis might he not say, "I have trodden the wine- 
press alone ; and of the people there was none with me ?" 

It is a great and blessed thing for us, my brethren, 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 21 

that such a Being has lived upon this earth. And cer- 
tainly one design of his mission was, to recover for man 
the ideal, the lost type, of a perfect humanity ; to ele- 
vate our race, not only by the promise of supernatural 
aid, but by the exhibition of a perfect model. 

Kecollect, it was not particles of matter, but a true 
humanity, which the Son of God assumed. " The Word 
was made flesh/' " forasmuch as the children were made 
partakers of flesh and blood, he also took part of the 
same." This is a truth which invests our nature with 
unspeakable dignity. When I reflect upon this fact, I 
rejoice that I am a man. I would rather be a man than 
an angel. " He took not on him the nature of angels." 
It was not in the face of an angel, but "in the face of 
Jesus Christ," that "God commanded the light of the 
knowledge of the glory of God to shine." In my nature 
the divine grace and beauty appeared here on this thea- 
tre where I dwell ; and yonder in that heaven to which I 
aspire, the divine glory now reigns, and will for ever 
reign, in my nature. man, know thyself. Bow in 
reverence before that humanity, which at first was made 
in God's own image ; and which hath been chosen as the 
mysterious abode — I had almost said the Shekinah — in 
which " the brightness of the Father's glory and the ex- 
press image of his person," hath veiled himself. 

And, now, in this aspect, contemplating the Ke- 
deemer in his human life and character, how isolated 
was he, how desolate his path, what a solitary dweller 
was he on this ungrateful earth, and amidst its degener- 
ate children. 



2'2 THE flONESOMSNBSS OF THE REDEEMER. 

"Think of his loneliness in places dim, 
When no man comforted nor cored for him." 

In meditating upon the lonesorneness of Jesus, we 

apt to follow him as lie goes apart into some desert 
place, or in his solitary journeys through Samaria, or re- 
tiring into the mountain and spending the night in prayer. 
But this is a mistake. Keferring to his hours of seclu- 

. he said to his disciples, "I have meat to eat that 
ye know not of/' Such a Being must have felt his lone- 
liness most intensely, when most intimately in contact 
with men. Then " the light shone in darkness, and the 
darkness" (not only did not sympathize with it, but) 
" comprehended it not/' 

He was alone — with none to understand him — in his 
views and estimates of the world and all that is in the 
world. I know that in his innermost life, every human 
"Ling is alone. In its " hidden sphere of joy and woe," 
each spirit dwells as a hermit. And I know, too, that 
in proportion as a man is exalted above those around 
him, his very elevation must condemn him to a certain 
kind of solitude. The summits which soar and pierce 
the clouds must be solitary. But there is no analogy 
between this inner nature, or preeminence, which sepa- 
rates one member of a fallen race from other members, 
and that divine perfection which separated from them 
all him who was ""holy, harmless, undefiled, and sepa- 
rate from sinners." As the " Son of Man" we may say of 
him, with the prophet, "who can declare his generation ?" 
for he was identified not with any family or people, but 
with our nature, and was, therefore, human, as no child 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 23 

of Adam can be. But as the " Son of God" surging 
the world lie had made, "his thoughts were not our 
thoughts/' his conceptions were as immeasurably above 
human conceptions "as the heavens are high above the 
earth/' The more carefully you study his life, the more 
will you feel, that to all, even to his disciples, he was 
wholly unintelligible. " He was in the world, and the 
world was made by him, and the world knew him not/' 

He was alone — with none to appreciate him— in his 
motives. Selfishness is the radical sin, the essence of 
depravity; it alienates man from God, and estranges him 
from his brother. Jesus dwelt in this world, the imper- 
sonation of love. His sermons were the beseechings of 
love, his miracles the interpositions of love, his tears the 
irrepressible gushings of love. So peculiar were his 
yearnings over human misery, that even the exhaustless 
treasures of the Greek language could furnish no vehicle 
for their utterance ; and the Holy Spirit formed a new 
word — a word never before nor since used — to express 
the pangs of the God-man. * So disinterested was his 
devotion to man, and such his entire consecration to 
others, even his enemies, that his revilers said, "He 
saved others, himself he can not save/' Where could 
such a heart look for sympathy ? who among the people 
could appreciate motives like these ? 

I might apply similar remarks to all his life and 
character. They were original manifestations. Even 
the infidel Eousseau exclaims, " Could Jesus have been a 

* Y.a-K'kayviadrj — " When he saw the multitude, he was moved with 
compassion on them." — Matthew, ix. 36. 



24 Till: LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

man p w Those who beheld liim said, in wonder, "Who 
is ?" " What manner of man is this ?" His charac- 

bdonged not to this world, but to an infinitely higher 
sphere. In him God is brought down to man, that man 
might be raised up to God. In him we all "behold as 
in a glass the glory of the Lord/' He stood alone upon 
this earth, the incarnation of pure, inextinguishable, 
perfect, divine love. It was the perfection of his human 
sympathies which attracted all to him ; but this very 
perfection must have forced painfully upon him a sense 
of his loneliness. " He went about doing good ;" but 
the sun moving majestically through the heavens — shed- 
ding light upon the evil and the good alike — is not more 
elevated above the storms and convulsions and infected 
exhalations of the earth, than were his life and character 
above the sins and passions and corruptions of the world. 

I did not intend, however, to dwell so long upon his 
example. This was but a secondary object of his en- 
trance into humanity. " Christ Jesus came into the world 
to save sinners/' " to give his life a ransom for many," 
" to make atonement for sin and to bring in everlasting 
righteousness." He constantly declared, that the very 
design of his mission was to suffer and die. And it is 

■cially in reference to these sufferings and this death — 
this fathomless mystery of eternaflove stooping to share 
our wretchedness, -and endure our punishment — that the 
Redeemer with piercing emphasis utters the language 
before us, "I have trodden the wine-press alone ; and of 
tr;e people there was none with me." 

As to the incarnation, so to the vicarious sacrifice of 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 25 

the Saviour, I know the objections which are often re- 
peated. These cavils are all based upon one common 
fallacy. They suppose that we may reason from man up 
to Grod, from human governments up to the divine ad- 
ministration. Hence one insists, that the innocent can 
not suffer for the guilty ; another, that God ought to 
pardon without any atonement ; a third, that a divine 
law must be enforced, and that no interposition can ar- 
rest its execution ; a fourth — but I need not enumerate 
these sophistries. As I said, they all rest upon one pal- 
pable mistake ; they overlook what revelation so em- 
phatically announces as to this very subject of mercy, 
that " God's ways are not as our ways, neither are his 
thoughts as our thoughts. " 

In addressing you, my beloved hearers, it is not ne- 
cessary to prove that the sufferings and death of Jesus 
were piacular, a true expiation for sin. But I can not 
help remarking that, if this fundamental doctrine be 
denied, the horrors of the Eedeemer in last hours pre- 
sent a problem which must for ever defy solution. It is 
admitted by all, not only that he was pure and innocent, 
but (what is much more) that he was " made perfect 
through sufferings/' It is admitted, that he knew the 
glory to which death would translate him from a world 
of sorrow. He spake of " the glory which he had with 
the Father before the world was ;" he said, " I came forth 
from the Father, and again, I go to the Father ;" and in 
his last prayer he exclaimed, " Holy Father, now come I 
to thee." All this will be at once conceded ; but, this 
being conceded, how can we account for the strange 



26 T'.IE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

mysterious horrors which overwhelmed him ? What is 
this anguish which wrings from him those cries, "My 
soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death/' "0 my 
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ?" 
And what is this burden which presses blood through 
y pore of his body ? David exults, with his expir- 
ing breath, as he commits his soul into the hands of this 
adorable Redeemer. As Stephen looks up, and meets 
the eyes of Jesus, who stands with open arms to receive 
his spirit, celestial glory transfuses his very form. Paul 
longs to depart and be with Christ. Supported by Jesus, 
martyrs, in triumphant ecstacy, have welcomed scaffolds 
and flames. And, every day, faith in Jesus pours into 
the souls of the dying, a joy unspeakable and full of 
glory. But in view of his death — though he knew that 
he came for the very purpose of dying as he did, and that 
he would pass to such ineffable glory — the Redeemer is 
filled with amazement and horror, he is borne down with 
consternation and wretchedness. 

Those who reject the clear Scripture doctrine, that 
Jesus suffered and died as a victim for our sins, can never 
reconcile this contradiction, can never explain this enig- 
ma. The solution is found only in the fact that " Christ 
suffered for sins to bring us to G-od/' that " Christ 
loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and a sac- 
rifice/' " that he appeared to put away sin by the sac- 
rifice of himself/' that " he bore our sins in his own body 
on the tree/' that " Christ hath redeemed us from the 
curse of the law, being made a curse for us/' 

But as I observed, it is not necessary to argue this 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 27 

point before you. I thank Grod you are all well estab- 
lished in this truth, without which we might have a re- 
ligion but would have no gospel. What I am to speak 
of .is, the isolation of the Redeemer, while working out, 
by pain and death, a great salvation for guilty man. 
Here was a task in which he was fearfully alone, a 
tragedy in which he was the sole performer. The part 
assigned him in this awful enterprise w T as peerless and 
exclusive. In that dark and dismal abyss into which he 
threw himself, none could aid him ; none could even 
communicate with him. 

There are no obscure intimations in the sacred books, 
that it was the Son, who, in the councils of eternity, pro- 
jected this wonderful interference for our ruined race. 
He is " the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world/' 
Wherefore his affections should thus go forth toward us, 
we know not ; but his celestial beatitude received fresh 
accessions of delight, as he surveyed the expedition upon 
which, in " the fulness of the time/' he should depart to 
achieve his glorious victories. Before the mountains 
were settled, when the clouds above were established, 
and the fountains of the deep were strengthened ; when 
his decree was given to the seas, and the foundations of 
the earth were appointed — even then, he " rejoiced in 
the habitable parts of the earth, and his delights were 
with the sons of men." 

The text, however, refers not to the origin, but the 
execution of this masterpiece of love and wisdom and 
power ; and upon this let us fix our thoughts. Here, in 
everything, the Redeemer was entirely alone ; so alone, 



Till: LONESOMBNESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

that with his position there could be no communication, 
with the Bufferings of his life no sympathy, in the last 
dismal closing scene no consolation. 

1 have mentioned the Redeemer's position*; 'what was 
that ? It was the condition of an innocent Being stand- 
is a substitute for a guilty race. And what an iso- 
lated phenomenon was this. Such a substitute must be 
human and yet perfectly innocent ; he must clearly 
and yet freely choose, the accumulated penalty 
t ' hi* endured ; he must possess a dignity so transcendent, 
that his sufferings will exhaust the demands of justice, 
and vindicate the majesty and inviolability of the divine 
law as awfully as if the sentence had been executed upon 
all the guilty population of the earth. Now here is a 
combination of qualities which seems impossible, but 
which was found in the Redeemer. In him, as we have 
said, were elements belonging, separately, to two differ- 
ent worlds, but which, when united, formed a Being be- 
longing to neither of these worlds. It would seem, from 
various declarations of Scripture, that the influence of 
redemption extends to every part of God's moral em- 
pire ; but it is evident that the adorable victim, by 
whose sufferings redemption was accomplished, stood 
alone in all that empire — that he was constituted a sub- 
stitute by qualifications which could nowhere find anj 
counterpart. 

From the Saviour's position turn, now, to the sor- 
rows of his life ; how solitary was he in these. In medi- 
tating upon this topic, w T e ought not wholly to overlook 
his physical bereavements. Passing through the sphere 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 29 

of angelic existence and entering humanity , where do we 
first behold him ? He is shut out from the abodes of 
men. His cradle is among the herds of the stall. When 
the shepherds enquired of the angel, where they might 
find this child, whose birth had illuminated all heaven, 
and was sweeping the minds of cherub and seraph with 
wonder and adoration — you remember the reply: " Ye 
shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in 
a manger/' He is not permitted to draw his ijrst breath 
in the meanest habitation of poverty. And this exclu- 
sion from the light and air of human dwelling places, 
was a fitting commencement of the life of him, who, in 
infancy, was hurried across deserts into an inhospitable 
land ; whose boyhood was passed in the meanest and 
most despised hamlet of the meanest and most despised 
district of Judea ; " who grew up as a tender plant and 
as a root out of a dry ground m " all whose years and days 
were those of a weary, forlorn, waylaid pilgrim, with 
men's faces hidden from him, and having " not where to 
lay his head/' 

But it was not any outward privations which made 
him "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief/' 
The woes with which his life was charged were deeper 
and darker. And in these he was entirely alone — alone 
in his tears — alone in his prayers and pathetic lamenta- 
tions. His burdened heart found no communion any- 
where, met everywhere only a cold repulsive apathy. 
Who could sympathize with him when, seeing his Fath- 
er's love and mercy and glory trampled under foot, he ut- 
tere that plaintive exclamation, " righteous Father, the 



30 THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

world hath not known tliee ?" At the tomb of Lazarus, 
who oi those mourners could comprehend the bitterness 
ot* Ills soul, as he viewed that melancholy spectacle, and 
contrasted it with the happiness for which he had formed 
the human family ? Lazarus he would raise and give 
back to his sisters ; but it was- sin that had dug that 
grave ; it was sin that had blighted the fair creation of^ 
his hand ; this caused him to " groan in spirit and be 
troubled $ this opened that fountain of tears in his heart. 
As he approached Jerusalem for the last time, his 
soul was smitten and rent with a grief still more pierc- 
ing and desolate. At Bethany* "Jesus wept/' The 
Greek word " wept" in this passage describes a soft, si- 
lent flow of tears. * But in the other passage, # When 
he saw the city he wept over it," a' very different phrase 
is employed, one denoting an uncontrollable burst of 
anguish, f And on that memorable occasion what a 
spectacle was presented. The air around him is quiv- 
ering with the acclamations of the multitude, as they 
hail his approach and strew his path with palms ; and 
beneath him is spread the gorgeous magnificence of Jeru- 
salem. But the hosannas of the crow r d have no music 
for his ears, the pomp of the metropolis no splendor for 
his eyes. " He wept over it." The emotions long pent 
up and struggling in his bosom could no longer be re- 
pressed. u When he saw the city he wept over it." But 
who in all that throng, which of all his disciples, could 
comprehend him as he stood in their midst bathed in 

* Edatcpvoev \ EkXcivgev. 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 31 

tears ? Who could enter the depths of his soul wrung 
with unspeakable agony, as he contemplated the moral 
devastations caused by sin ; as he saw even the Holy 
City become a charnel house of spiritual corruption ; as 
hanging over the very temple, he detected the lurid 
cloud from which the fiery tempest would soon be loos- 
ened ; as he looked into eternity where hell was uncov- 
ered before him ? 

My brethren, this solitude of Christ's inner life is to 
me most touching. The coarse and depraved are dead- 
ened in their sensitiveness ; as our nature is pure and 
refined, we crave sympathy. The perfect humanity of 
Jesus thirsted ^nd pined for sympathy. Then, too, the 
mysterious and arduous purpose of redeeming a lost 
world was the absorbing passion of his soul, and made 
him % ardently desire enlightened appreciation. * But he 
looked around and found neither appreciation nor sym- 
pathy. With not one even of his most loved Apostles 
could he interchange word or thought as to his anx- 
ieties, disappointments, and sorrows. " Of the people, 
there was none with him/' none who could condole with 
him in the anguish which drank up his spirit. Human 
bosoms have been loaded with misery, and human hearts 
have been bowed down and howled with wretchedness ; 
tfut never, in all his long and large acquaintance with 
woe, has man known " sorrow like unto his sorrow." 
For it was the lamentation of a perfectly holy Being, 
who knew what sin is, what sin had done, was doing, 
would do. It was the mysterious, incommunicable, un- 
approachable sorrow of the Creator ; standing among the 



32 THK LONESOMEKESS OF THE KEDEEMER. 

unnatural children whom he had formed for happiness 
and love, but who had plunged themselves into misery, 
and who hated him with a malignity relentless and ini- 

able. 

When, from the sorrows of the Saviour's life, we 

- to the last closing scenes of his sufferings, the lone- 
Bomenesa of his mournful condition deepens into most 
appalling solitude. Early in his ministry there is ever 
the spirit of buoyancy, but as he approaches its ter- 
mination/ a tone of majestic sadness pervades all his 
thoughts. Dying is always a solitary process ; this to 
me, is one of the most melancholy things in death, that 
in that ghastly conflict, none can tabs part with us. 
Still, how much may the gentle ministers of love and 
friendship do, to soothe the languishing form and calm 
the throbbing brow. But in the death on Calvary, and" 
in the scenes preparatory to that tragedy, through all 
that sore " travail of his soul/' the Eedeemer sounded 
the depths of misery so entirely and intensely alone, that 
his human nature seems to have been well nigh over- 
whelmed by the sense of forlornness, desertion and deso- 
lation. 

Eecall his midnight agony in the garden. "And 
being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly, and his 
sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to 
the ground/' The shades around him had been growing 
darker and darker each year of his life. On the cross they 

ame utter blackness. But, now, as the word "agony" 
denotes, he was in a dreadful conflict with a " horror of 
great darkness/' The cup w r as now set down before him 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 33 

full of bitterness, which he must soon drain to the dregs. 
He was brought to the very mouth of the furnace, that 
he might look in and see the raging billows into which 
he must venture. "When the three Hebrews were cast 
into the flames, he went in with them, and " the smell 
of fire passed not on them ;" but into this furnace, infi- 
nitely more terrible than that of Babylon, he must en- 
ter alone. Justice is now separating the victim for the 
sacrifice. The sentence has now been uttered, " Awake 
Sword !" In shedding vengeance on the old world, 
on Sodom and Gomorrah, on rebel angels, that sword 
had only slept ; now it must put forth all its sharpness, 
for it hath a fearful work to do. The proclamation has 
gone forth, " Awake Sword against my Shepherd, 
and against the man that is my fellow'' (equal) " saith 
the Lord of Hosts. Smite the shepherd and the sheep 
shall be scattered/' 

It is to prepare for this dreadful hour which is at 
hand, that he retires to the secluded garden of Geth- 
semane ; and what a lonely sufferer is he there, as he 
lies all along upon the ground that cold night (" for it 
was cold," John xviii. 18,) drops of blood congealing as 
they ooze from every pore of his anguished frame. Every 
thing in this scene is most affecting. The humanity of 
Jesus was, my brethren, an entire humanity, embracing 
those elements which are masculine with those which 
are feminine. With what undaunted courage does he 
not, on this very night, throw himself at once, and with 
utter self-forgetfulness, between his disciples and the 
swords of the guard, saying, " If ye seek me let these 

2* 



34 THE LONKSOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

go their way." But combined with this intrepidity, 

wore the gentleness and tenderness of a woman. It is 
this, I had almost said, feminine craving for sympathy — 
for at least some support from the presence of those 
dear to his heart — that causes him to take Peter and 
James and John into the garden with him. And it is 
with the same feeling, that he rises three times from the 
ground, when swallowed up in wretchedness, and returns 
to these disciples. But they can hold no communion 
with him now, in this mysterious agony under which he 
is " sore amazed/' and his " soul exceeding sorrowful 
even unto death/' Indeed, he finds them each time 
asleep ; and his complaint is exceedingly touching, 
" What, could ye not watch with me one hour ?" It 
is in reference to this consternation and anguish of Jesus 
in Grethsemane, that the Apostle says, "Who in the 
days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and 
supplications, with strong crying and tears unto him 
that was able to save him from death, was heard in that 
he feared/' And you recollect that, in compassion to 
the weakness of that " flesh," " there appeared an angel 
unto him from heaven, strengthening him." 

The disciples could sleep during the lonely hour of 
the Saviour's agony in the garden, but they knew no 
more sleep that night; they could* sleep, but the ene- 
mies of Christ slept not ; they could sleep, but Judas 
slept not ; and no sooner has the Eedeemer been invig- 
orated by the celestial messenger, than that traitor en- 
ters the garden, leading armed soldiers to seize him. Nor 
does Jesus wait for them. " Bise," he says to his disci- 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 35 

pies, " let us go," and at once advances to meet them. 
In what followed, I Meed not say how entirely he was 
left alone. His blood sold — so many ounces for so many 
pieces of silver ; arrested as a thief ; buffeted in the face ; 
stripped and scourged ; spit upon ; crowned with thorns ; 
perjurers suborned to slander him — Oh, the least of these 
wrongs w^ould excite some commiseration for the worst 
of felons ; but amidst all these accumulated insults and 
outrages, no eye pitied, no heart was moved towards the 
holy and harmless sufferer. Of his disciples one be- 
trayed him, another denied him with feigned contempt, 
the rest " all forsook him and fled." " Of the people 
there was none with him ;" they all cried out, " Crucify 
him, crucify him," " Not this man but Barabbas." And 
even his judges — instead of the sympathy and compassion 
which the guiltiest ought to find when sentenced to an 
ignominious death — even his judges forgot their office 
and dignity, and joined the ferocious rabble in mocking 
and reviling the innocent victim whom they were about 
to murder. 

The distress and agony of the garden arose from the 
clear and amazing apprehensions which Jesus then had 
of the cross, and the sacrifice he was about to offer upon 
that dreadful altar. Of the bitter pains of that terrible 
self-immolation in which he " tasted death for every 
man," we, of course, can comprehend nothing. But we 
know that then, in a sense most appalling and doleful, 
he "trod the wine-press alone." Strengthened by the 
angel, replenished with heavenly communications, his 
human nature was serene, even exulting amidst the de- 



36 Tin-: lom:somkxess of the redeemer. 

sen ion of his friends, and all the wrongs and insults 
heaped upon him by his foes. All this he had antici- 
& lie had said to his disciples, " Behold the hour 
Cometh, yea is now come, that ye shall all be scattered, 
every man to his own and shall* leave me alone ; and yet 
1 am not alone because the Father is with me/' But 
the frightful solitude of his soul when that Father 
should forsake him, it was impossible to anticipate. 
Nothing could prepare him for this. And when the 
ever deepening cloud gathered in such blackness, that all 
communion with his Father was suspended, his humani- 
ty — perfect but all too weak for this deluge of agony — 
could sustain itself no longer. It at once quailed and 
shrank and died. Inanimate nature felt the horrible- 
ness of that scene, and " from the sixth hour there was 
darkness over all the land until the ninth hour." But 
no symjoathy reached his convulsed spirit. He was 
alone ; alone enduring the curse for us ; alone "bearing 
our sins in his own body on the tree/' and exhausting 
the fierceness of eternal justice ; alone, without succor 
from man ; alone, without one strengthening whisper 
from angel ; above all, alone, without one ray from his 
Father's countenance. And that expiring cry, " My 
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ?" was the 
bitter, dreary, dismal, piercing wail of a soul utterly 
deserted — wrapped, shrouded in essential unmitigated 
desolation. 

III. I had intended to present one other illustration 
of the text ; I meant to apply it to the Kedeemer's tri- 
umphs ; but your own thoughts must supply this Article. 



THE L0NES0MENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 37 

Every generous feeling in our bosoms would, indeed, 
revolt, had he not finally conquered. Nothing, not even 
the rescue of a ruined world, could reconcile us to a 
scheme involving the defeat and destruction of a bene- 
factor, who thus welcomed shame and suffering and death 
for our sake. No, let me perish ; let the storm of fire 
and wrath and blood break and beat upon all the guilty 
generations of the earth, and whelm and blend them in 
one common perdition, rather than such love and devo- 
tion terminate in a catastrophe so disastrous — not only 
to the glorious substitute — but to the interests of.justice 
and virtue. Our hearts instinctively predict, that out 
of this fearful conflict, the Saviour must emerge a mag- 
nificent victor. Nor are we disappointed. Indeed in 
the Scriptures — as if to gratify this anxious heralding 
of our souls — the mediatorial conquests of Jesus are 
constantly mentioned in the same sentence with his suf- 
ferings. If prophets " testified beforehand the sufferings 
of Christ," they, in the same breath, testified " the glory 
that should follow ;" if " Christ ought to have suffered 
these things/' it was that he might " enter into his 
glory;" if he was " for a little while made lower than the 
angels for the suffering of death," it was that he might 
be " crowned with glory and honor, seated at the right 
hand of God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies 
be made his footstool ;" if " being found in fashion as a 
man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross," it was that he might 
be " highly exalted and receive a name which is above 
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should 



38 THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

bow. of things in heaven and things in earth, and things 
under the earth, and that every tongue should confess 
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father;" 
in short, if lie he "led* as a lamb to the slaughter/' it is 
that from myriads of blest voices, from numbers without 
number, eternity may for ever resound w r ith that adoring, 
exulting hallelujah, "Worthy is the Lamb that was 
slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." 

Our text, in fact, refers directly to the victories of the 
Eedeemer. The solitary champion passing before the 
prophet's vision has- his garments rolled in blood, attest- 
ing the closeness and deadliness of the strife. But on 
his brow r is the lustre, and on his lip the smile, of a war- 
rior fresh from fields where he had been masterful and 
irresistible. And you, my brethren, know well the 
arenas of his glorious triumphs. 

Here, upon this earth, was his battle field ; here " the 
god of this world" held old, prescriptive, undisputed 
empire ; here the embattled legions of hell were firmly 
entrenched. And here the Eedeemer came, and came 
alone ; and, in his own unaided might, he destroyed "the 
works of the devil ;" " and having spoiled principalities 
and pow r ers, he made a show of them openly, triumph- 
ing over them." Allies inspire courage and confidence ; 
mind rallies mind-, and heart, heart. But through all 
his protracted warfare, until he " overcame and sat down 
with his Father on his throne," the Saviour was entirely 
unsupported. What temptations he endured, what "con- 
tradiction of sinners against himself," how his disciples 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 39 

opposed him, how good men stood aloof, and bad men, 
like Herod and Pilate, buried old feuds in the common 
league with hell — I need not say. But, amidst all, 
though alone, he felt himself victorious. It was prophe- 
sied, that a he should not fail nor be discouraged till he 
had set judgment on the earth, and the isles should wait 
for his law/' and well was that prediction verified. Wit- 
ness his impatience for the bloody baptism, which would 
break the thraldom of sin. As the traitor goes out to 
prepare the band, hear his exclamation, "Now is the 
Son of man glorified." And in the judgment hall, where 
he stands a solitary friendless man, betrayed and in- 
sulted, with what awful majesty does he smite the souls 
of those judges whose ermine is stained with the foulest 
outrages, as — in answer to all their wanton contumely- 
he calmly points to a tribunal at which human decisions 
would be reviewed. "And the high priest arose and 
said unto him, Answerest thou nothing ? what is it which 
these witness against thee ? But Jesus held his peace. 
And the high priest answered and said unto him, I ad- 
jure thee by the living Grod, that thou tell us whether 
thou art the Christ the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, 
Thou hast said. Nevertheless, I say mito you, Hereaf- 
ter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand 
of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." 

Yes, beloved friends, in that fearful encounter which 
has made this planet for ever memorable in the annals of 
eternity, the Redeemer was alone — without aid, or coun- 
sel, or comfort, or sympathy. It was not thus when he 
created the earth ; then he wanted neither glad retinue 



40 THE J.ONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

nor adoring acclamations. When he went forth of old, 
with all his travelling glories about hirn, strewing his 
pathway with worlds ; hanging planets and suns in the 
regions of space ; " making the heavens by his word, and 
all the hosts of them by the breath of his mouth" — then 
the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of 
God shouted for joy. But when he comes on a far more 
arduous and glorious expedition, he moves alone — alone 
from his celestial throne — alone across the plain where 
he meets the serried legions of darkness, and wrestles 
"not only against flesh and blood, but against princi- 
palities, against powers, against the rulers of the dark- 
ness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high 
places" — triumphing over them all. 

And there was another and still more mysteriously 
fearful ordeal for his heroic devotion to our race. " There- 
fore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my 
life that I might take it again." Strange words these, 
but understand their meaning. The life he takes up, is 
the human life victorious over that death which, as "the 
last enemy," "the king of terrors," held humanity in dis- 
mal bondage. Therefore his Father now loves him, not 
only as his eternal and well-beloved Son, but as our 
Redeemer, who, in our humanity, and for our humanity, 
hath achieved so glorious an emancipation. 

The feeblest Christian can now spurn and insult 
death ; can exclaim, "0 Death where is thy sting ? 
Grave where is thy victory ? Thanks be unto God who 
giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." 
This munificent donation, this " giving us the victory," 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 41 

this conveying over to us all the fruits of Chrises resur- 
rection triumph, no mortal thought can appreciate. In 
reference to this transfer, the Psalmist says, "Thou art 
gone up on high, thou hast led captivity captive, and re- 
ceived gifts for men, even thine 'enemies/' But it was a 
dearly-bought triumph. It was " through death that he 
destroyed him that had the power of death." For this 
he stepped alone across the confines of mortality, invading 
.the dismal precincts of the grave. And there, alone, 
through all those hideous dominions, he fought his way 
single-handed ; putting forth that omnipotence which 
made it " impossible that he should be holden of death ;" 
loosing the power of death ; causing all those hollow 
depths to resound with the shouts of a conqueror ; say- 
ing, " I will ransom thee from the power of the grave, 
I will redeem thee from death. death, I will be thy 
plagues, grave I will be thy destruction ;" swallowing 
up death in victory ; abolishing death and bringing life 
and immortality to light/' 

It was when returning from the theatre of this mys- 
terious, unearthly, direful conflict, and bringing back 
humanity radiant with immortal glory — when standing 
upon the earth as " the resurrection and the life" — that 
the prophet hailed the Captain of our Salvation. And 
well might that great Deliverer make the announcement 
in our text, " I that speak i$ righteousness, mighty to 
save, I have trodden the wine-press alone ; and of the 
people there was none with me/' 

IV. But, as I said, your own reflections must supply 
what I omit in this article. It is time for me to finish ; 



42 THE LONESOMBNESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

and the practical uses of the subject upon which we 
have been meditating ought to be of great value to us all. 

My brethren, the disciples of Jesus may, like Bun- 
van's pilgrim, have to walk alone, to leave all and follow 
him, to feel themselves solitary in their trials and expe- 
riences ; they may be called to know sorrow and" persecu- 
tion, then* faith and love may be tried in the furnace, 
and without support or sympathy they may be greatly 
dejected. It is no easy thing for a "human being to be* 
true to God and himself, when all around— in the looks, 
tones, conduct of* others — he sees only the proofs of 
estrangement and enmity. Even the lion-hearted Elijah 
sinks into despondency, and abandons his post, exclaim- 
ing, "I, even I only, am left/' These reasons are neces- 
sary for us ; they train us to a calm and triumphant 
confidence in truth. "We shrink from them, but they 
invigorate principles which would be weakened by sym- 
pathy and cooperation — even as ashes enrich the soil 
which gold dust would only impoverish. 

Yes, such ordeals form and nourish the noblest char- 
acters, but they are very stern and depressing for all that. 
And nothing can so support and animate the soul, as the 
thoughts suggested by our present subject. Do I feel 
myself separated, for truth's sake, from those I love ? 
Let me " consider Him ;" what are my sacrifices when 
compared with his ? Am I cast down ? is my heart 
wasted and consumed because lover and friend are put 
far from me, and I have none to counsel or cheer me in 
my solitary conflict ? Let me " consider Him/' What 
is my isolation to his ? In short, he " trod the wine- 



\ 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE REDEEMER. 43 

press alone;'' and why should not I ? Shall I repine at 
my loneliness ? Who can conceive his joys in the asso- 
ciations of heaven ? We know that the Deity never 
dwelt in gloomy solitude ; the very doctrine of the Trin- 
ity teaches this. And what must have been the delights 
of the Son in his ineffable communion with his Father, 
in " the love of the Holy Spirit/' and in the adorations 
of the multitudes he had created, and whose souls he 
Caused to run over with celestial blessedness. All this 
he left to engage in a sea of trouble and sorrow for me. 
Let me meditate upon this amazing truth, and I can 
never droop or murmur. Here is a thought which can 
sustain the heart of the loneliest missionary, as he 
" goeth forth and weepeth bearing precious seed," which 
can people burning sands and sickly jungles with heav- 
enly consolations, can cause the very desolation around 
him to breathe glad inspiration into his soul. 

Another reflection. As Christ was alone in his me- 
diatorial work, so he must be alone in the gospel, in the 
salvation offered to man. You have listened to me in 
vain to-day, you have read your Bibles to no purpose, if 
you need any argument upon this point. Such a sub- 
stitute, such a victim, such a satisfaction — you feel in- 
stinctively, that the atonement thus made is matchless 
mercy and .love, and that nothing else can be united 
with it. It must for ever spurn all affinity with the 
works and merits of guilty man. Unbelief is the fatal 
sin, because it depreciates this masterpiece of eternal 
"wisdom and compassion. Why, indeed, should you 
wish to combine any offering of your own with it ? It 



44 THE LOXESOMEXESS OF THE REDEEMER. 

is complete. His " blood cleanseth from all sin;" and 
no thing is left for us, but; with penitent and grateful 
hearts, to accept this salvation so full, so free, so adapted 
to all the emergencies of our desperate condition. 

The last reflection — which like the Athenian's " Ac- 
tion/' ought to be the first, and second, and last, — is the 
love of Christ. My brethren, was he alone in his media- 
torial work ? then let him be alone in our hearts. In 
view of a devotion like his, what shall we say ? We 
have been contemplating his sufferings ; all these he 
welcomed for man ; " while we were yet enemies, Christ 
died for us/' He longed for his baptism in overwhelm- 
ing wretchedness, that he might rescue us. And on the 
cross, it was not the nails which bound him — these by a 
word he could have shivered — it was his love which 
stretched and fastened him there. Such generous immo- 
lation of himself for us, what emotions ought it to awaken 
in our bosoms ? 

Some of you, I fear, care nothing for this adorable 
Kedeemer. As far as your sympathy and friendship are 
concerned, you would have him still continue alone. 
And, this afternoon, when his church assemble to com- 
memorate his wonderful love, you will treat him with 
cold, insulting indifference. To you he will look and say, 
" Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by ? behold and 
see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow." As 
well, however, might he appeal to the rocks. How 
strange and unnatural is your conduct ; .and how cer- 
tainly and justly will you perish, if such a benefactor 
can find only ingratitude and enmity in your hearts. 



THE LONESOMENESS OF THE KEDEEMER. 45 

But you, my beloved brethren, I charge you, I con- 
jure you, let the love of Christ constrain you — dwelling 
in your hearts and controlling all your lives. It was 
Mary of England who said, " When I die, Calais will be 
found written on my heart/' Christian, what is wTitten 
on your heart now? Jt is "Jesus." What will be 
found written on your heart when you die ? " Jesus." 
Y/hat will remain indelibly written on your heart 
through all eternity ? " Jesus." Yes, oh, yes, let all 
other names be erased, and his be engraved on our hearts 
in characters of imperishable love and loyalty. Alone 
was this adorable Eedeemer in all the arduous work of 
our salvation. Alone let him, therefore, for ever reign 
in our souls — alone, with no rival near the throne — the 
undisputed sovereign of all our allegiance, the sole, 
supreme, peerless monarch of every passion and affec- 
tion. 

Now, "unto him that loved us, and washed us from 
our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and 
priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and 
dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 



SERMON II. 

THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

" And after eight days, again the disciples were within, and Thomas 
with them ; then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst 
and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy 
finger and behold my hands ; and reach hither thy hand and thrust it into 
my side ; and be not faithless, but believing." 

"And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my G-od." — 
John, xx. 26, 27, 28. 

There is scarcely any state of feeling so painful as 
that in which the mind oscillates between reasons for 
faith and for .doubt ; especially where some long cher- 
ished precious belief is assailed, and seems to be over- 
borne, by facts which can not be disputed. This sus- 
pense, this distressing conflict between hope and fear, we 
have all experienced, but it is impossible for us to con- 
ceive the perplexity, the cruel anguish, of the disciples, 
during the three days which intervened between the cru- 
cifixion and the resurrection of their Lord. 

Can they, after such displays of his power and 
glory, surrender their confidence in him as the promised 
Messiah ? But, such impotence to save himself, such 
contempt, death — and such a death — how can they 
reconcile all this with the magnificence of that august 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 47 

I 

Deliverer, whose predicted triumphs flooded the souls of 
patriarch and prophet with unutterable joy ? 

God, however, does not suffer this gloomy equipoise 
between light and darkness to continue long. " The ' 
Sabbath drew on/' just as a Sabbath of rest and peace 
will dawn upon every soul which patiently waits and 
hopes for salvation. And on that glorious day, all 
doubts vanish, as night is dispersed before the rising 
sun. While the Apostles are assembled, Jesus himself 
stands in the midst and says, " Peace be unto you/' 
At this first interview Thomas was not present. 

Our text refers to a second appearance of the Sa- 
viour, a week afterwards. It is remarkable, that each 
of these manifestations was on the Christian Sabbath, 
the first day of the week, which is thus signally blessed 
and hallowed. "And after eight days, again his disci- 
ples were within, and Thomas with them ; then came 
Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and 
said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, 
Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands ; and reach 
hither thy hand and thrust it into my side ; and be not 
faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and 
said unto him, My Lord and my God/' 

It is to this passage that our meditations are directed 
to-day. And, entering into the matter, let us do two 
things ; let us, first, consider the unbelief of Thomas, 
and then the Saviour's conduct towards this skeptical 
Apostle. 

I. When De Tocqueville was in this country, he de- 
sired to see a Sabbath School, and expressed his great 



4S THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

pleasure at beholding a Bible in the hands of every child. 
He might well be filled with delight ; for a child reading 
a Bible, a revelation of God, is a phenomenon more won- 
derful than all the starry pomp and splendor of night, or 
the noontide glory of the orb of da^y. Nor is the Bible 
only a revelation of God to man, it is a revelation of 
man to himself ; and the more you examine its pages, 
the more will you discover delineations of character 
which fiction never could have invented, the more will 
you admire a simplicity and sincerity which belong only 
to truth. * 

This remark is suggested by the case before us. For 
who would have supposed that Thomas could be guilty 
of this unbelief ? Our first glimpse into his character 
fills us with admiration for his brave, enthusiastic, 
martyr faith in the Saviour. When Jesus expressed his 
intention to visit the afflicted family at Bethany, thus 
exposing himself to the vengeance of his enemies — 
"Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his 
fellow disciples, Let us also go that we may die with 
him m " a noble exclamation, which furnishes the theme 
of that grand German hymn, Let us go, that we may 
suffer with Christ, that we may die with Christ, that 
we may reign with Christ. 

But this almost incredible inconsistency is perfectly 
true to life. My friends, you can not be too often re- 
minded, that feelings — however beautiful — are no more 
piety, than the ornaments of a column are the column 
itself. Peter le£ps into the sea to embrace his Lord; 
Peter no sooner sees Jesus arrested, than he smites one 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 49 

of the band with a sword ; Peter indignantly exclaims, 
" Though all men forsake thee, yet will not I." This 
same Peter, in the hour of trial, grows pale, and says, 
■f I know not the man/' And so with our Apostle. 
While Jesus is present, no danger, no death, can shake 
the intrepid soul of Thomas ; but now, his-faith fails, 
he sinks into utter despondency and dishonors his Sa- 
viour by discarding all confidence in his character and 
mission. 

Now, as to this unbelief, looking at it in itself, let us 
not single out this disciple, and mark him off for cen- 
sure ; the others only believed after they had seen. Still, 
Jesus upbraids Thomas for his unbelief, and with rea- 
son ; the same reason which causes God, on every page 
of the Bible, to condemn unbelief. Lord Brougham 
affirms that men are not accountable for their faith ; 
Dr. Channing asserts that unbelief in the Bible is not 
always criminal ; Grod says, " He that belie veth not shall 
be damned/' It is plain there is a mistake somewhere 
here. 

My friends, this is a truth we should never forget, 
that faith in human testimony is an instinct of our na- 
ture ; we naturally confide in each other ; distrust is an 
abnormal state of the mind, the melancholy fruit of age # 
and experience. People profess to be shocked at the 
teachings of the sacred books as to man's depravity. 
Well, I ask them, then, why is it that the young are 
ever confiding, and why, as we become acquainted with 
the world, incredulity, caution, suspicion, spring up iu 
our bosoms ? The fact is, that reciprocal confidence is 

3 



50 THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

the organic law, the primal bond of society. Without 
faith in witnesses, courts of justice could not proceed a 
step in their work. Without trust in our fellow-rnen, 
all business would cease, our marts would be closed, our 
ships would rot at our wharves, all intercourse, com- 
mercial anfl social, would be broken up. 

This is incontestable. The position taken by Thomas 
was, therefore, most unreasonable and monstrous. In- 
deed, it is impossible to conceive a case, which would 
more clearly show that unbelief in the gospel is really a 
perversity of the will — not the calm judgment of the 
mind, but the wilfulness of the heart. Does he really 
regard all the Apostles as guilty of deliberate falsehood ? 
No such thing ; he esteems them, and associates with 
them. But he must see for himself ; nay seeing will not 
do. " Except I shall see in his hands the print of the 
nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and 
thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe/' -And, 
now, what is this but the very temper of those who re- 
ject the gospel, unless their senses and reason confirm its 
announcements ? 

Such cavillers should remember what the Bible as- 
serts for its high and holy revelations ; they are " things 
. w r hich eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor have en- 
tered into the heart of man," but which "God hath re- 
vealed unto us by his Spirit." The truths we preach 
rest — w r here every true religion must rest — not on our 
reasonings, but on God's testimony. "And I, brethren, 
when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech 
or wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God" 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 51 

God's word, God's veracity, these are the credentials of 
our faith. And, while we may " commend the truth to 
every man's conscience in the sight of God/' it is simply 
impious to speak of proving what Jehovah affirms ; it is 
insinuating that it may be false. 

" Keason," say you ? Very well, I honor reason. 
But for this thing which some men call reason, what is 
it ? what error will it not adopt, if congenial to our 
pride or prejudices ? what truth will it not reject, if op- 
posed to our interests or passions ? If any thing be 
certain, remarks' a profound thinker, it is, that all the 
lines from the centre to the circumference of a circle are 
equal ; yet if one of these lines cross a man's wishes, he 
will dispute the proposition. If a man resolutely shuts 
his eyes, of what avail is the brightest light ? Some- 
body has said, that the mind of a bigot is like the pupil 
of the eye, the more light you throw upon it, the smaller 
it becomes. I add, that the mind of a man who piques 
himself on his skepticism, resembles a diseased eye, 
which closes altogether, as soon as light touches it. 
" But sincerity, — sincerity !" Yes, the sincerity of the 
mariner who steers truly according to the compass, after 
having concealed a load-stone which diverts the needle 
from its bearings. I do not doubt anybody's sincerity, 
but is sincerity in error a substitute for truth ? It is a 
fearful thought that this boasted sincerity may only be- 
tray a heart hopelessly hardened, a conscience incurably 
stupified. " If the light that is in you be darkness, how 
great is that darkness." 

My brethren, it should ever be remembered, that un- 



52 THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

belief in testimony is not a negative state of the mind 
it is disbelief. We speak of a believer in the gospel, as 
if he had more credulity than the unbeliever ; the re- 
verse, however, is the truth — an assertion this which 
finds its prompt and ample illustration in the case in 
hand. 

The fact which Thomas doubted, was the resurrec- 
tion of Christ ; and I will, at once, concede much on 
this point. I admit that if there be a phenomenon as 
to which one is justified in demanding conclusive testi- 
mony, it is the resurrection of a dead body. There is no 
discussion about the trinity or the divinity of Christ or 
any other mystery of eternity ; these are matters of ab- 
stract theology, pure revelations transcending our poor 
thoughts and addressed dogmatically to our faith ; it is, 
therefore, sheer downright folly to cavil about them. 
But graves are every day opening beneath our feet, the 
graves of those we love ; can these bodies be reanima- 
ted ? after mouldering in the earth, shall they shake off 
the dust of death, and emerge in youth and vigor ? 
On this question we may think and argue — we will, we 
must think and argue, and the answer which sense and 
reason and all nature gives us, wraps the mind in deep- 
est gloom, as the black night curtains rush down be- 
tween us and those forms we have loved and cherished. 

I am not unmindful of certain analogies as to which 
poets and rhetoricians have discoursed with great beau- 
ty. I remember the butterfly rising from the chrysalis, 
and spreading its gaudy wings to the sun ; but was there 
any death there ? This is nothing but a new form of 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 53 

existence. And so, too, as to the coming fortli of bud 
and leaf and flower in spring time; vegetation never was 
dead, it only slept. The vernal rays pour no life into 
the trunk which is hewn down or decayed. They can- 
not give it a vital growth again. 

The resurrection of the body is no such renewal of 
suspended vitality, it is the re-infusion of life into a 
corpse ; and these fancies only mock the earnest soul 
seeking anxiously for truth. A man who knows how 
to think may well require demonstration on this great 
subject. 

But, had not Thomas the most conclusive testimo- 
ny ? Eecollect, he had more than once seen the grave 
opened and the dead arise ; he had been present, not 
long before, at the memorable scene in Bethany, when 
Lazarus came forth ; he knew that Jesus had repeatedly 
assured his disciples of his resurrection on the third day, 
nay, had staked the truth of all his doctrines on that 
great triumph over death. And, now, just reflect upon 
the array of witnesses — witnesses who, Thomas knew, 
were above all suspicion — and witnesses who could not 
possibly be deceived as to the fact attested, that they 
had seen Jesus and conversed with him. Think of the 
number of witnesses — Mary, Peter, the two disciples 
from Emmaus, the whole college of Apostles. These 
witnesses were incapable of attempting any deception ; 
they could have no motive ; nor could any but idiots 
hope to practice a fraud, for if Jesus had not risen, the 
Jews co aid produce the body. Above all, Thomas had 
seen the other Apostles as incredulous as himself, as 
gloomy, as desponding, "When the three women in- 



54 THE IXCKEDULITY OF THOMAS. 

formed them of the vision of angels at the tomb, " their 
words were to them as idle tales." Mary declares that 
she had seen him and talked with him ; " bnt they, 
when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen 
of her, believed not." "After that he appeared in 
another form unto two of them as they walked and went 
into the country, and they went and told it unto the 
residue ; neither believed they then." Even when he 
showed himself to the ten Apostles, they were at first 
bewildered and affrighted, " and supposed that they had 
seen a spirit." Whence now their confidence, their 
assurance, the great joy and exultation which fills their 
souls to overflowing ? 

I was right, then, in affirming that the incredulity 
of our Apostle was most irrational. In rejecting the 
evidence of Christ's resurrection he, of course, persisted 
in the belief that the body was still in the tomb — be- 
traying a fund of credulity bordering on insanity, and to 
which no parallel can be found in the records of martyrs 
and confessors. 

His unbelief, indeed, seems at first wholly unac- 
countable, and would be a problem defying solution, 
did we not see it exemplified every day in men endowed 
with ail the noble elements we admire in Thomas, but 
who also resemble him in their proud, wilful, intellectual 
perversity. 

Thomas has his lineal descendants now, not only in 
the world but in the church. He is the representative 
of a class who are in great danger of becoming dupes to 
the devil, through that very pride of intellect to which 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 55 

the tempter first addressed his artful suggestions, and 
with such terrible results. 

My brethren, some men's sympathy with truth is 
through the heart. Nathaniel is a type of this class — 
the humble, the gentle, the guileless Israelite, rejoicing 
at once in the Saviour's words — doubting nothing, con- 
fiding entirely and for ever. Thomas represents a very 
different order of men, those whose affinity with truth 
is through the intellect. They are not wanting in affec- 
tion ; like Thomas, their attachments are strong and 
ardent, their impulses high and generous. But they 
pique themselves on their penetration, their tact in calm 
and cautious analysis ; they shake their heads at all ex- 
perimental piety ; they must argue out every thing syl- 
logistically ; they must give a reason — (not "for the 
hope that is in them " but) why Grod is thus and why 
Grod does thus ; they must " prove all things and hold 
fast what is good" — that is to say, they will sit in judg- 
ment upon Grod's word and only admit what their reason 
approves ; in short, they are philosophers^ and, mistak- 
ing inordinate self-conceit for a preponderance of the 
logical faculty, they are captious and incredulous about 
every thing. " Calvin thought so and so — Luther thought 
so and so — Robert Hall thought so and so— Newton, Ba- 
con, the most illustrious lights of science and religion 

thought so and so, but I think." You 

think ! 

Let me not, however, indulge in this strain ; this en- 
tire narrative teaches us to deal kindly with these peo- 
ple. But, still, for all that, we must deal faithfully 



56 THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

with them ; Ave must warn them that their unbelief 
springs from an nnsanctilied heart ; we must remind 
them, that man fell through this mental insubordina- 
tion, and that the gospel is designed to humble this 
haughty spirit, to correct this fatal disorder ; we must 
tell them — in short, we must repeat, without dilution 
or mitigation, the decree of the Judge himself, " He 
that believeth not shall be damned." And as to any 
pretext that this temper is their nature,' their constitu- 
tion, we must let them know that such a plea can avail 
them nothing. If such an excuse be valid, why, then, 
the vindictive man, the miser, the sensualist, must be 
acquitted ; in fact, a man's innocence will be exactly in 
proportion to his corruption. To say that God will 
punish only those sins which are unconstitutional, is to 
affirm that he will only punish those sins to which there 
is no temptation — that is, he will punish no sins at 
all 

We have thus indicated the secret of Thomas' incre- 
dulity, the unhumbled, unsanctified element which was 
the cause of his obstinate skepticism. Looking farther 
at his conduct, we detect in him, as in every man of this 
class, the deplorable practical influence of such a spirit. 
For, it commits him to a course which must rivet his 
doubts, and which, had not God mercifully interposed, 
must have doomed him to become an incurable infidel — 
causing him to separate himself from the other Apostles, 
to forsake their assemblies, and, thus, to forfeit that 
manifestation of the risen Saviour which would have 
entirely dispelled his doubts, and given him "beauty for 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 57 

-ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of 
praise, for the spirit of heaviness/' 

As to the reason of Thomas' absence from the first 
meeting mentioned in the narrative, there has been much 
discussion ; and many expositors have supposed that he 
was detained by indispensable business, urging his loss 
as a warning to those who suffer any secular engage- 
ments to keep them from the assemblies of the saints. 
It is a melancholy fact, that such admonitions were 
needed in the primitive churches, and have still to be 
uttered ; however, they must not be* enforced at the 
expense of truth. It is just impossible that this derelic- 
tion of Thomas could have been caused by the urgency 
of any sort of business. What ! on that day, the third 
day, upon which Jesus had promised to rise ;* what ! 
when the whole city is agitated by the report of the 
soldiers, that the body is gone ; what ! when the three 
women declare they had seen angels who announced his 
resurrection ; when Mary and Peter affirm that they 
have seen him ; and when the Aj)ostles are. gathered to- 
gether saying, " The Lord is risen indeed and hath ap- 
peared to Simon" — at such a time, and there in Jerusa- 
lem, Tnomas too much engrossed to spend an hour with 
his brethren, his fellow Apostles ! 

To name such a conjecture, is to expose it. Nor, 
had his absence been his misfortune, is it probable that 
Jesus would have appeared until he had come. No, he 
is perverse, stubborn, wilful ; he clings to his skeptical, 
rationalizing spirit ; he stands aloof in moody, morbid 
isolation of soul. " I will not believe/' I will do nothing 

3 



58 THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. •. 

to remove ray unbelief, I have taken my stand and I* 

will not yield it. Ah, Thomas, Thomas but why 

waste our lamentations on him ? Was this temper pe- 
culiar to Thomas ? far from it ; here, in this house, and 
now looking me in the face, are more than one who might 
sit for the portrait — men who first make up their minds, 
and then resolutely exclude all light which will disturb 
their opinions — people who hastily adopt sentiments, 
and then defend them with an obstinacy proportioned 
to the precipitancy with which they were adopted. Every- 
body wishes, indeed, to have truth on his side ; but to be 
on the side* of truth, to range ourselves there distinctly 
and unshrinkingly, how few display this sublime hero- 
ism. Men of Thomas' stamp are ever loud in applaud- 
ing sincerity and loyalty to truth ; but they are prone to 
forget that true sincerity opens the mind to light from 
any quarter, that we must " buy the truth" — buy it at 
the cost of painful sacrifices — and that, for them, the 
first and most essential sacrifice is the immolation of 
that pride of opinion in which they secretly glory. 

II. So much for the incredulity of Thomas. Let us 
now pass to our remaining topic, the conduct of Jesus 
towards this refractory Apostle. 

My brethren, that there is a rejection of the truth 
which is incorrigible and fatal to the soul, I need not 
tell you. The mind has its idols as well as the heart, 
and Ephraim may be so joined to these idols, that God 
will let him alone. " Because they receive not the love 
of the truth, that they may be saved, God shall send 
them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that 



THE IKCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 59 

they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but 
take pleasure in unrighteousness/' The barren fig tree 
had its four years, and Thomas has his eight daysj woe 
to him had he still been recusant and refused to be 
present at the second meeting of the Apostles. " If any 
man will do, he shall know ;" but it is equally true, that 
if any man will not do, he shall not know. Unbelief, if 
nourished in pride and haughtiness, becomes every day 
more unbelieving. Little by little the mind drifts into 
dreary regions of unrelenting ice, from which there is no 
access to a throne' of grace, and where the soul is shut up 
in darkness and despair. 

This vicious and irreclaimable hostility to truth must 
never be confounded with a defection in faith. To this 
default a child of Grod is liable ; and from it he shall be 
delivered, though it is really an ordeal far more perilous 
than the fiery furnace which tried the fidelity of the 
three Hebrews. The Christian's confidence may be 
sorely shaken, but his love will abide the test, and finally 
triumph. Like Peter he may be recreant, but like Peter 
he can say, "Lord thou knowest all things" — all my 
weakness and perfidiousness — but "'thou knowest that I 
love thee." With Thomas, he may seem utterly apos- 
tate ; but to him, as to our Apostle, the name of Jesus 
will be precious still ; his heart will still leap in kind- 
ness towards those who are Christ's ; he will seek their 
society ; he will return to their fellowship and commu- 
nion, and to those means of grace by which "his soul 
shall be delivered from death, his feet from falling, and 
his eyes from tears." 



60 THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

Studying the Saviour's treatment of Thomas, the 
first thing which strikes us is, that he causes his pride 
and faithlessness and guilt to punish him. And thus it 
ever is in the economy of the gospel. " Thy own wick- 
edness shall correct thee, thy backslidings shall reprove 
thee. Know therefore, that it is an evil thing and bit- 
ter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God/' 

No tongue can describe, no imagination can conceive, * 
the joy of the other Apostles. " Now when Jesus was 
risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first of 
all to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven 
devils. And she went and told them that had been with 
him, as they mourned and wept." How changed is all 
now. " Then were the disciples glad when they saw the 
Lord." " Now ye have sorrow, but I will see you again, 
and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh 
from you." " The Lord is risen indeed." " The voice 
of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacles of the 
righteous. The right arm of the Lord doeth valiant- 
ly ; the right hand of the Lord is exalted. The right 
arm of the Lord doeth valiantly." From wdiat pro- 
found gloom did not their minds emerge; how are 
their souls transported, and their hearts running over 
with the fulness of this great blessedness. He whom 
they adored, but whom they ha'd seen gashed with 
cruel wounds, expiring on the cross and laid in the 
cold grave — he is alive again. He who had left them 
orphans in a heartless world which hated him and hated 
them — he has returned to comfort and protect them. 
Their faith, their hopes are not in vain. He has tri- 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 61 

iimplied over death and hell, and lives, and will for ever 
live, their almighty Eedeemer " able to save to the ut- 
termost/' " Blessed be the God and Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant 
mercy, hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the 
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." 

But while the hearts of these Apostles are thus burn- 
ing within them ; while their souls thus rise from the dust 
with their risen Lord and stand erect ; while they feel 
themselves new creatures, breathing a new atmosphere, 
living in a new world ; while, for them, the heavens cry 
to the earth, and the earth answers back to the heavens, 
and the firmament glows with golden lights and living 
sapphires, and all the trees clap their hands, and hill 
and valley and sea and dry land break forth into sing- 
ing, where is Thomas ? How is it with him ? Thomas 
is a stranger to these consolations and raptures ; not a 
single ray visits his dark soul ; for him all is shrouded in 
midnight gloom ; his bosom is torn by cruel doubts and 
suspicions. He has forfeited the first " Peace be unto 
you" which distils from the lips of the risen Saviour — 
the first great -joy he breathes into the hearts of the dis- 
ciples, baptizing them in happiness and love. His sin 
is his punishment ; and as I said thus it ever is. Before 
Christ blesses his people, he humbles and chastens them 
by their own iniquities. Peter must go out and weep 
bitterly, before Jesus will comfort him. Thomas must 
grope in darkness and experience all the wretchedness of 
unbelief, before Jesus will appear to him. " I will go and 
return to my place till they acknowledge their offense 



62 THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

and seek my face. In their affliction they will seek me 
early." "I have surely heard" (Jesus has been knock- 
ing at tha door, and is now listening,) "I have surely 
" heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast 
chastened me, and I was chastened. Turn thou unto me 
and I shall be turned, for thou art my Lord and my 
God" — language this of a soul relenting and seeking the 
Lord, which is most applicable to the case in hand, for 
it is the very exclamation in our text. " And. Thomas 
said unto him, My Lord and my God." 

The second trait in the conduct of Jesus towards 
Thomas is, his great kindness. 

I can not pass this topic without noticing and com- 
mending as a model to all, the spirit of Christ mani- 
fested in the behaviour of the other Apostles toward this 
erring brother. He had discredited their testimony ; are 
they incensed and ready to revenge this insult ? He 
has dishonored their Saviour ; do they cast him out, and 
upbraid him, saying, Aha ! it is the just punishment of 
thy sin that the Redeemer hath not appeared to thee as 
to us ? No, they pity him, they bear with him, they 
expostulate w T ith him. I see them visiting him in his 
sad condition ; I beheld them seeking to dispel Iris 
gloomy thoughts ; I hear them renewing their assur- 
ances — Thomas, believe it, we did see him, we were not 
deceived — it was he — the same J6sus we love, and you 
love. Oh, Thomas, you remember how he used to look, 
and smile, and speak to us — what love there was in the 
depths of those, eyes — what sweetness in that voice; 
just so he looked, and smiled, and spake ; only if possi- 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 63 

ble with more sweetness and tenderness. Yon know 
that, like you, we once refused to believe, and at first 
we were affrighted ; but when he stretched out his hands 
and we saw the print of the nails, when we heard his 
own voice say " Peace!" when we looked into those 
clear shining eyes, all doubt was gone. It w r as he, it 
was he. The Lord is risen indeed. Would you had 
been there ; but be not cast down, he will appear again, 
and you, too, will see him soon. 

Such forbearance and tenderness and affection, when 
did they ever fail to win the most intractable spirit ? 
Nor are they in vain now. The Apostles "have gained 
their brother." Thomas is touched, his heart yields. 
"You meet again on the first day of the week" — "We 
do" — " I will not fail to be with you." 

Of the former assembly it is said, " the doors were 
shut for fear of the Jews;" at this second meeting, it is 
again said, " the doors being shut," but we hear nothing 
now of any fear of the Jews. No ; he is risen, and all 
their fears are quelled. "And after eight days, again 
his disciples were within, and Thomas was with them." 
Thomas is with them — still doubting — his thoughts 
alternating between hope and fear ; but no sooner does 
Jesus see this refractory member in the fold, than he 
appears. "Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and 
stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you." And 
this benediction uttered, he turns at once to the delin- 
quent, and, fixing his eyes upon him, pronounces his 
name, "Thomas." 

What thoughts, my brethren, what emotions now 



G4 THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

agitate our Apostle's bosom ! what mingled humility 
and joy and shame and adoration ! He had refused to 
meet before ; that look upbraids him with his absence. 
He had doubted his brethren ; no word of condemnation 
is uttered, but in their presence Jesus stands before him. 
Words of disbelief, vehement and harsh, had he spoken ; 
he little thought who was near and heard him ; he is 
now reminded of those words ; his very language is re- 
peated, but not in anger — in accents of kindness, of the 
tenderest commiseration. 

And this suggests the last feature I can notice in the 
Saviour's method of dealing with this unworthy Apos- 
tle — I mean his condescension. Condescension the more 
affecting and instructive, the more we examine it. 

Condescension, in heeding the demand of Thomas at 
all. " Let Christ the king of Israel descend now from 
the cross, that we may see and believe ;" you remember 
this impious scoff of the Pharisees. Was the language 
of Thomas less impious and insulting to the Eedeemer ? 

Condescension, in selecting Thomas as an object of 
peculiar interest. The heart of the father yearned more' 
over the prodigal than over his brother who had not 
fallen ; and the tenderest solicitudes of Jesus are at- 
tracted to his disciples who sin, but turn to him in peni- 
tential grief. Peter had sinned, but he is overwhelmed 
with sorrow, hence a special message to him. " Go tell 
my disciples and Peter!' The other Apostles are filled 
with joy, while Thomas is a prey to the most dismal 
thoughts ; hence the Saviour concentrates his immediate 
attentions upon him. For Peter a messenger will do, 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 65 

since, amidst all his guilt, "his faith fails not." But 
the great Physician must, himself, hasten to rescue 
Thomas ; for the symptoms are most portentous ; unbe- 
lief is spreading through his soul. 

Condescension, in his sympathy for the melancholy 
state to which Thomas is reduced. When Jesus sees a 
Christian warm, living, confiding, he comes to him and 
points him to duty. Mary had such a heart. Christ 
appears first to her, preferring the Magdalene to his own 
mother—thus teaching us that the ties which unite him 
to a pardoned sinner are stronger than the dearest earthly 
bonds. But when she, in the ardor of her soul, would 
throw herself at his feet, and cling there, he prevents 
her, he sends her forth as a missionary. " Touch me 
not," he says, " but go tell my brethren." Thomas is 
unfit for any service, his soul is diseased ; the Saviour, 
therefore, at once " strengthens the things which remain 
but are ready to die"— cheering his drooping spirit, re- 
animating his sinking confidence. 

Above all, condescension, in his prompt and full 
compliance with such unreasonable and inj iirious condi- 
tions. Mr. Jay tells us of a poor woman who said, " If 
Jesus had know^n how much trouble I was going to give 
him, he never would have had any thing to do with me 
from the first." My friends, my friends, he knew all the 
trouble, but he will have to do with his people from the 
first to the last ; bearing with all their weaknesses, pity- 
ing them as a father pities his children. The same au- 
thor mentions the remark of another woman who said, 
" If Jesus will only save me, hell never hear the end of 



66 THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

it in eternity." Oh, he'll never hear the end of it from 
any he saves, he'll never hear the end of it from Thomas. 
What patience, what condescension here. Instead of 
chiding, he saith to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger 
and behold my hands, and reach hither thy hand and 
thrust it into my side, and be not faithless but believ- 
ing/'' The Evangelist says nothing of the conduct of 
Thomas when thus addressed, and we need nothing. 
Does he accept the gracious invitation ? No, it only 
humbles him in the dust, and melts his very soul. His 
fingers ! his hands ! — into those cruel wounds his heart 
has already entered seeking the heart of his Redeemer ; 
or rather, out of those wounds the great heart of his 
Redeemer has already come, and kindled in his soul a 
faith and love and worship, which vainly seek to find 
adequate utterance, which can only give vent to them- 
selves in that adoring exclamation, " My Lord, and my 
God IV 

• III. In reading this narrative, my brethren — for it is 
time to finish — there is one truth which must impress 
itself upon every mind. We feel that all things are or- 
dered by unerring wisdom and will conspire to secure 
the triumphs of the gospel. You are familiar with the 
illustration of this remark in the glory which accrues to 
the Redeemer's kingdom, from the weakness and pov- 
erty of the first disciples. And, now, as to the case be- 
fore us, what is the fact ? We are really more indebted 
to the unbelief of Thomas than to the faith of all the 
other Apostles. 

I need not remind you that the resurrection of Christ 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 67 

is the grand central truth of the gospel ; that where- 
ever the Apostles went, they preached Christ, "that he 
rose from the dead/' and declared, " If Christ be not 
risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is vain ; 
ye are yet in your sins." This fact, therefore, ought to 
be abundantly confirmed. And God has corroborated 
it by every sort of testimony which can make a past 
event perfectly certain. 

To the accumulated mass of testimony on this sub- 
ject, there can be invented only two plausible objections. 
It may be said that the witnesses were the friends of 
Josus, and that they were men of easy credulity. Now, 
to these cavils it might be replied, that if Jesus had not 
risen, the friends wdio had been duped by him were the 
very persons most injured ; and that they could not 
possibly have been imposed upon in such a matter. 
This, however, is not the true answer ; the simple fact 
is, that these sophistries recoil upon those who urge 
them. For, of all the enemies of Christ, Saul was the 
most ferocious, he was the embodiment of religious ha- 
tred — that most malignant and inrplacable of all hos- 
tility — and he is a leading witness. The conduct of the 
Apostles shows, that they were all skeptical in their 
tempers ; but there was among them one who was the 
impersonation of incredulity, suspecting every thing, 
distrusting the most convincing evidence. And his un- 
belief is changed into the most exulting assurance. 

There is another benefit derived from the perversity 
of Thomas. We owe to it a proof of the Saviour's di- 
vinity, which none but the infidel can question. I w T ill 



6S THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

not profane this sanctuary with the impiety which pre- 
tends that the Apostle uttered, and Jesus commended, 
a blasphemous exclamation. The language " My Lord 
and my Ixod," we feel instinctively, was the outgushing 
of a full heart, nor can the words be misunderstood. 
And, when we remember that this was before the college 
of Apostles ; and that, in the presence of these represent- 
atives and inspired teachers of the Church in all future 
ages, Jesus accepted and sanctioned this direct and most 
emphatic ascription of essential Deity, there is but a sin- 
gle alternative left. We must either admit this funda- 
mental truth, or range ourselves at once with the in- 
fidel. 

In another part of this discourse, we spoke of a class 
who are in great danger from the predominance of the 
rationalistic element in their characters. When, how- 
ever, men of this order are once convinced, they never 
stop at half-truths, nor receive the whole truths with 
half-hearts. They are sure to make atonement for their 
former mutiny, by a loyalty and devotion to the kingli- 
ness of a great truth which are never found in common 
minds. Chalmers once preached morality ; with what 
earnestness, when enlightened, did he press salvation by 
faith alone. In the early stage of his ministry, Eobert 
Hall doubted the personality of the Holy Spirit ; how 
deeply imbued are all his riper productions with this 
essential truth. Coleridge used almost to scoff at the 
Trinity, but when his mind had matured, he pronounced 
that doctrine, not only a clear revelation of the Bible ; 
but an absolute " necessity" for such a being as man. 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 69 

And, in Thomas, we see the same noble reaction. 
He will not believe ; but when convinced of the Saviour's 
resurrection, he takes in, at once, all the sublime import 
of that glorious phenomenon. He feels, irresistibly, the 
divinity of this august being. He feels more. In that 
risen Saviour he sees, not only a God, but his God — the 
Invisible and ever Glorious divested of all terrors, and 
united to his humanity so closely and tenderly, that 
faith and love may claim him as a friend and brother ; 
may say "My Kedeemer liveth." 

Beloved brethren, we have long enough been used to 
speak of unbelieving Thomas ; it is time that we reverse 
this language, and speak of believing Thomas. If his 
senses had inspired his faith, that faith now vindicates 
itself, by penetrating where his senses could not reach. 
Christ is revealed not only to him, but in him. He not 
only adores, but appropriates — exclaiming, with unut- 
terable confidence and delight, " My Lord and my 
God." 

A single remark more. It is in reproving the incredu- 
lity of Thomas, that Jesus proclaims the grand motto of 
his kingdom, All to faith, all by faith. Under the gos- 
pel it is remarkable that every benediction is upon faith. 
It is remarkable that neither upon our Apostle nor his 
brethren is any such blessing now conferred as that for- 
merly bestowed upon Peter. There it was faith. " And 
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, 
Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it 
unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven." Here it is 
sight. Manifesting himself to the senses of the Apostles, 



70 THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 

Jesus utters, indeed, the gracious salutation, " Peace be 
with you." But the blessings of the gospel are reserved 
for faith. " Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou 
hast believed ; blessed are they who have not seen, and 
yet have believed." 

This announcement refers, of course, to a belief in 
Jesus j)ersonally. Saving faith is confidence in Jesus ; 
a direct, confidential transaction with liim. "I know 
whom/' not what, nor, in idiom, but ivliom "I have 
believed." The case shows clearly, that believing, here, 
is the faith which apprehends and receives a divine Sa- 
viour, and him, dying for our sins, and buried, and rising 
again, "according to the Scriptures." 

This benediction, however, is not to be thus restricted. 
It is the great, crowning, gospel beatitude. In the ser- 
mon on the mount, Jesus multiplied blessings upon vari- 
ous evangelical graces. Here he ascends to the source of 
all these graces. " Blessed are they that have not seen, 
and yet have believed ;" blessed, because the life of faith 
is the noblest life. Sense binds us down to the things 
which are seen, faith draws aside the curtain and looks 
in urjon God and his invisible things. " Blessed are they 
that have not seen, and yet have believed ;" blessed, be- 
cause the life of faith is the happiest life. Sense, like 
Martha, weeps at the graves where we are daily burying 
all our earthly hopes and joys ; faith, like Hannah, cleaves 
the clouds and gazing up to heaven exclaims, " Although 
the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the 
vine ; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall 
yield no meat ; the flocks shall be cut off from the fold, 



THE INCREDULITY OF THOMAS. 71 

and there shall be no herd in the stalls ; yet I will rejoice 
in tho Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation/' 

Yes, "Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet 
have believed/' But shall it be always thus ? Must we 
ever see only " through a glass darkly?'' No, thanks 
be unto God, another day, another economy will come. 
After all, Jesus admits here that the lights of faith are 
feebler, more languid than those of sense. The irradia- 
tions of faith are, at best, only a twilight ; it is, however, 
the twilight, not of evening, but of morning, and soon it 
shall fade away, not into darkness, but into clear, un- 
clouded noontide. And if, now, the powers of the world 
to come, thus dimly felt, can fill and delight the soul, 
what transports will be ours, w T hen all the glories of that 
world shall burst upon our ravished vision. If, now, 
when we " see him not," faith can rejoice in Jesus "with 
joy unspeakable and full of glory ;" what imagination 
can conceive the joy, the rapture, the ecstacy, when we 
shall " see Him as He is." There he stands ! that Jesus 
whom I have so long loved. There he is ! beckoning me, 
saying to me, " Come up hither." " Beach hither thy 
fingers" — not, however, to put them into the print of the 
nails, but to take and strike a harp which, shall for ever 
resound to his praise ; " and reach hither thy hand," not 
to thrust it into his side, but to receive a crown of glory 
which shall never fade away. 



SERMON III. 

THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

"A new commandment I give unto re, That ye love one another; 
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." — Johx, xhi. 34. 

Scientific theology has its important uses, but it 
must not be confounded with religion. Nobody would 
discard mathematics ; it would, however, be an intoler- 
t able mockery if, instead of a warm, faithful portrait of 
one dear to us, the artist should furnish only a cold 
arithmetical enumeration of the sizes and proportions 
of his features. Indeed, though dry scholastic divinity 
may sometimes serve to expose error and heresy, it may 
be dangerous to true devotion, it is almost sure to kill 
the life out of piety ; just as the knife destroys the 
strength and vigor of a heal thy. body, however indispen- 
sable surgery may be to explore the seats of disease, to 
remove tumors and amputate limbs. 

The more you study the gospel, the more will you 
feel that it appeals to the affections. None drive so 
many people to heterodoxy as those who are ever dog- 
matically urging a system of heartless orthodoxy. They 
are themselves too orthodox to be evangelical, and their 
hard, controversial, unamiable spirit is most disastrous 
to the truth as it is in Jesus. The Saviour and his 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 73 

Apostles constantly address the heart. One reason, in- 
deed, why "the Word was made flesh and dwelt among 
us/' is, that religion may be a living, cordial, genial 
thing — gratitude and attachment to a person ; and the 
sacred books always make love at once the motive and 
essence of all piety. "If ye love me, keep my com- 
mandments/' 

Our text is a remarkable illustration of this truth. 
Jesus is now about to leave the earth. Upon that earth 
his church is about to wage a war which shall certainly 
triumph. And, now, what are his parting instructions 
to his church ? How are his followers to vanquish all the 
banded opposition of the world ? Does he counsel them 
to amass wealth ? to secure high offices ? to acquire 
learning ? to equip fleets and armies ? to employ craft 
and intrigue ? No, the first disciples were so poor that 
they could say, " Silver and gold have we none ;" they 
were destitute of learning ; they were humble and de- 
spised ; nor did they ever kill or wound a single human 
being — though constantly wronged, insulted, and mur- 
dered. The power with which the Redeemer arms his 
church — but which that church still so little compre- 
hends — is the power of love. All wealth and honor and 
might were his, and he could have conferred them? on his 
subjects ; but he bequeaths to them a richer legacy, a 
more resistless potency. He infuses love into their souls. 
" Love one another/' he says. " A new commandment 
give I unto you, That ye love one another/' This is the 
sacrament by which a new era is inaugurated in the his- 
tory of the world ; this is the sign by which the cause 

4 



74 THE NEW- COMMANDMENT. 

of Jesus shall triumph and his empire shall be estab- 
lished. 

" That ye love one another." Let us meditate up- 
on this great truth ; and then enquire why this com- 
mandment is called "new." "A new commandment 
give I unto you, that ye love one another." Oh Jesus, 
uncreated, eternal, essential Love ! incarnate, bleeding, 
dying Love ! risen, ascended, glorified Love ! let thy 
voice be heard this day in our hearts, repeating this new 
commandment ; let thy Spirit kindle this love in our 
souls, to dwell there and burn there with sacred and 
inextinguishable ardors. 

I. This valedictory address of the Eedeemer, these 
farewell instructions to his disciples, are full of signifi- 
cancy, and deserve our most careful study. What oceans 
of ink, what rivers of blood have been shed about the True 
Church. Now surely, if salvation depends on our being 
within the pale of some hallowed inclosure, on the ob- 
servance of certain forms and rules, Jesus would, in 
these final injunctions, have accurately defined this con- 
secrated area ; he would have described this indispensa- 
ble machinery. But we have from his lips not a syllable 
on these subjects. He has taught us all things pertaining 
to eternal life, and he has given us a programme of the 
last judgment, but neither in his discourses, nor in his 
admonitions as to the great Assizes, nor in the inspired 
teachings of his Apostles, do we find one word about the 
mystical virtues of churches and sacraments. I do not 
undervalue creeds and forms and ordinances, but, after 
all, love is the soul of all creeds, the heart of all forms, 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 75 

the life of all ""ordinances. Without love ; all sacraments 
and rites and ministries are " sounding bras's and tink- 
ling cymbals/' Where two or three are gathered to- 
gether in Christ's name, and with love breathed into 
their souls, there Christ is in the midst of them, there is 
a true church. 

My brethren, love is the only badge by which the 
church of Christ is known. " By this shall all men 
know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to 
another/' Nations have their escutcheons, their crests 
and ensigns ; armies have their shields and banners ; 
and families their heraldry, with its arms and quarters 
and bearings. In the days of Christ, Jews and Gentiles 
had their emblems — different sects and schools and acad- 
emies being distinguished by symbols, devices, and mot- 
toes. At this day, churches called Christian glory in 
names, titles, orders, in pomp and parade. But there 
is only one badge of the true church which will be rec- 
ognized and honored by "all men/' That badge is love. 
" The banner over us is love." A society may have a 
ministry and ordinances, may build temples and observe 
the Sabbath, and do many virtuous acts ; but without 
love it is not a church of which Christ is the head, and 
its members his members. " He that loveth is born of 
God." " By this shall all men know that ye are my 
disciples, if ye have love one to another." 

Love is the only law by which a church of Christ is 
to be governed. Church government ! — how much pride, 
prejudice, ambition, selfishness, arrogance, injustice, cru- 
elty — the very tempers most emphatically reprobated by 



76 THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

the gospel — have been sanctified by this*phrase, stain- 
ing the history of the Church, so miscalled, with the 
darkest and foulest crimes which have blackened the 
annals of our race. A king dabbling with' astronomy 
once said. Had I been present when God arranged the 
solar system, I could have made some important sug- 
[ona So vain men have thought as to the Saviour's 
regulation of his church, and they have sought to im- 
prove his system. But he knew what was in man. 
Under his own eye and on more than one occasion, his 
Apostles betrayed spiritual ambition, enquiring, " Who 
should be greatest ? n and you remember his answer. Had 
he instructed them in the arts of exercising dominion — 
of elevating themselves into an ecclesiastical aristoc- 
racy — they would have been apt scholars. All men are 

irises in that department of learning which teaches 
s-lf-aggrandizement. But he rebukes their ambition, 

ting a little child before them, and pronouncing him 
greatest who has the most childlike and loving spirit ; 
saying. "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles 
exercise dominion over them, and they that are great 
exercise authority upon them, but it shall not be so 
among you ; but whosoever will be great among you 
let him be your minister, and whosoever will be 
chief among you let him be your servant/' As in 
the natural world the Creator secures order without 
monotony, by forming each particle of matter with its 
own peculiar properties, and throwing around all sub- 
stances the law of gravitation ; so in the Church, there 
are many members, and diversities of gifts and tastes 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 77 

and characters, but the law of love binds all into one 
harmonious whole. 

I know it would be unutterable folly to dispense 
with the vigorous and rigorous administration of laws in 
such a world as this ; human society would soon be 
disorganized and plunged in wild anarchy and confusion 
were its members left to be controlled by love. If any 
events could unite men together as brothers, they were 
the trials and triumphs of the American Eevolution. 
Yet scarcely had independence been achieved, when an 
enemy more formidable than any foreign army at once 
appeared, and intestine strife threatened to rend into 
hostile fragments that noble confederation. It was at 
that critical moment, that General Washington made a 
remark showing his calm and profound wisdom. Mr. 
Lee wrote, urging him to use his great influence to quell 
a tumult in Massachusetts. " You talk of influence/' 
this is the reply, " but influence is not government, and 
nothing can save the country but a government. For 
this we have no common constitution/' 

"Influence, is not government!" but in the Church 
influence is the best government, the influence of love. 
While Jesus was upon earth, what regulated his young 
Church ? It was his influence. Incarnate love was the 
incarnate conscience of his Church. And now, love is 
the only arbiter needed ; love will settle every thing. If 
love reign in a church, it will almost supersede disci- 
pline.- Cases can seldom occur requiring discipline ; and 
such cases will at once call forth a tenderness and gen- 
tleness which will weep over and melt down and reclaim 



/S THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

the erring. As in an uproar none make so much noise 
as those who are crying out " Silence !" so none create 
so much disturbance in a church as those who pride 
themselves on being rigid disciplinarians, and on keeping 
everybody and every thing in order. 

When from the internal administration of the Church 
we turn to its outward work, its enterprise upon the 
earth, we . find a mission entirely of love. It is this 
which makes the gospel the religion suited to all climes 
and all ages. It is the code of love ; it deals not with 
cases, but with principles ; it appeals not to casuistry 
but to the heart. Human enactments, executed by hu- 
man tribunals, really have in them no moral sanction 
whatever ; they appeal never to conscience, but only to 
detected facts ; they leave the depraved passions to grow 
and fester, and scowl and pounce only upon their out- 
breaks. The gospel reaches the springs and sources of 
character, and seeks to purify them ; it nourishes prin- 
ciples of love, and these will destroy selfishness, and thus 
secure universal and eternal equity in all things. 

" And one of the company said unto him, Master, 
speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance 
with me. And he said unto him, Man, who made me a 
judge or a divider over you ? And he said unto them, 
Take heed and beware of covetousness." Which of the 
brothers was wrong, he does not decide ; but he exhibits 
the principle which settles this and all similar cases. 
The baneful love of money w^as the cause of that family 
quarrel, as it is of almost all family quarrels now. Let 
this vice be corrected, and the disgrace and unhappi- 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 79 

ness will at once cease. And it is thus the gospel 
redresses all the evils and disorders of society. It assails 
no form of civil government, prescribing a better ; but 
it enforces principles which will transform any govern- 
ment into a government of love. It does not seek to 
^ break up social and domestic relations ; but it infuses 
a spirit which will make these relations ties of affection 
and happiness. 

I will only add one other remark here. It is love, 
my brethren, which is to secure the perpetuity, and 
final and universal triumph of the church of Christ. 
Force, stratagem, hereditary, prescriptive authority — 
these are the foundations on which earthly kingdoms 
rest. Had Jesus been a competitor with worldly mon- 
archs, had he accepted the crown offered him, and em- 
ployed his miraculous power to establish a temporal 
empire, his throne, like that of the Caesars, would have 
been an unsubstantial, perishable fabric. But he founded 
his empire on love ; and as God alone is omnipotent, 
because he only is pure essential Love — so it is certain 
that "the gates of hell can never prevail" against a 
church which embodies the love of God. Against it 
error and superstition and tyranny will set themselves, 
and for a time its progress may be arrested ; it may 
even seem to be defeated ; but it will possess the earth 
as the waters cover the face of the deep. You stand 
upon the sea-shore when fhe tide is in its flood. Wave 
after wave rolls up, is broken, and driven back ; but 
the ocean is thundering in, and will sweep all before it. 
Crowded as was the life of Napoleon with the mani- 



SO THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

testations of genius, nothing ever done or uttered by 
him discloses more strikingly the greatness of his mind 
than those profound words recorded by Count Montho- 
lon : "I know men, and I tell you that Jesus is not a 
mim. The religion of Christ is a mystery which sub- 
sists by its own force, and proceeds from a mind which 
is not a human mind. We find in it a marked individ-. 
uality, which originated a train of words and actions 
unknown before. Jesus borrowed nothing from our 
knowledge. He was not a philosopher, for his proofs 
were miracles, and from the first his followers wor- 
. shiped him. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and my- 
self founded empires, but on what foundation did we 
rear the creations of our genius ? Upon force. Jesus 
Christ alone founded an empire upon love ; and at this 
hour multitudes would die for him. I die before my 
time, and my body will be given back to the earth to 
become food for worms. Such is the fate of him who 
has been called the Great Napoleon ! What an abyss 
between my end, and the eternal kingdom of Jesus 
Christ, which is jDroclaimed and loved and adored, 
which is extending over the whole earth !" 

It is a significant fact, that Jesus left behind him 
no prescribed artificial organization ; yet his teachings 
established a society compacted by ties firmer, more 
indissoluble, than those which consolidate states and 
kingdoms. Unlike earthly kings, he did not concern 
himself about a successor, nor like human teachers and 
philosopers, did he compose volumes containing a full 
and systematic exhibition of his doctrines. He simply 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 81 

taught men to love. This was the lesson our common 
humanity was waiting to receive, and it at once pene- 
trated to the depths of our nature. Uttered by an 
humble Hebrew youth, that imperial word, "Love," 
began directly and irresistibly to work out the most won- 
derful changes. Pride, prejudice, lodged and rooted su- 
perstitions, were soon vanquished by it. Thrones have 
crumbled and dynasties have expired, but the power of 
that word hath not been exhausted ; it is inexhaustible ; 
it will yet vanquish and renovate this fallen world — 
making all things new, creating a new earth and a new 
heaven bending over it. 

There are other thoughts which I ought to present 
here ; but I must sacrifice them. I ought to remind 
you that love is the glory, the happiness, the perfection 
of the church of Christ. Love is greater than faith and 
hope, not only because it is more enduring, but because 
it comprehends them both ; for it " hopeth all things, 
believeth all things." It hath more hope than hope it- 
self, more faith than faith itself. We every day see lov- 
ing hearts hoping against hope, and trusting in spite of 
the basest perfidiousness. Love, indeed, is the crowning 
flower in which all the Christian graces will expand and 
bloom in eternity. It is the glory, the happiness, the 
perfection of the church triumphant. The highest 
heaven knows nothing more exalted and blessed than 
love. It is folly to speak of knowledge here. We mis- 
take familiarity for knowledge, or we would confess our 
ignorance of everything. We think, and understand, 
and speak as children, and when " that which is perfect is 
come," these puerilities shall all " be done aivay" What 

4* 



82 THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

we call knowledge will not be perfected, but entirely su- 
perseded as so much imbecility and nescience. But love 
will be perfected in heaven. " Whether there be prophe- 
cies, they shall foil ; whether there be tongues, they shall 
cease ; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. 
But love never failetk." The perfection of love is the 
beatific glory of heaven ; and to be " made perfect in 
love" is to anticipate heaven while we are upon earth. 

While, however, I must omit many thoughts upon 
which I would delight to dwell — for this is a subject very 
dear to me — there is one question which I must put be- 
fore leaving this topic. I must ask each of you, Do you 
belong to the true church of Christ ? Have you this 
love for his people ? " We know that we have passed 
from death unto life because we love the brethren." 
"He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." 
Ponder these solemn, searching, stripping words. Do 
not speak of your love for God. "If a man say, I love 
God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar." You love God, 
you are zealous, and liberal ; you delight in prayer, in 
the Bible, the sanctuary, and all the exercises of devo- 
tion. Very well. But do you love your brother ? Do 
you bear with his infirmities ? Do you admire his excel- 
lencies ? Is his reputation dear to you ? Are you con_ 
cerned for his salvation ? " But he has so many imper- 
fections and faults." What ? are you faultless then ? 
Do you not love yourself in spite of conscious imperfec- 
tions ? Do you not expect Jesus to love you and bear 
w r ith you, though loaded with defects ? What if God 
should condemn you, as you well know you are com- 
pelled constantly to condemn yourself ? 






THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 83 

[* Lord, many a time I am aweary quite 
Of my own self, my sin, my vanity, 
Yet be not thou — or I am lost outright — 
Weary of me. 

11 And hate against myself I often bear. 
And enter with myself in fierce debate. 
Take thou no part againft myself, nor share 
In that just hate. 

" Best friends might loathe us, if what things perverse 
We know of our own selves, they also knew. 
Lord, holy One, if thou, who knowest worse, 
Should'st loathe us too." 

This humbling confession of the poet, is it not yours ? 
And, after this, will you be eagle-sighted to detect blem- 
ishes in your brother — motes in your brother's eye ? and 
plead his imperfections as a reason for not loving him ? 
Ah ! my dear hearer, how little have you been in the 
school of Christ ; what a stranger are you to that love 
which he taught, and which his own life exemplified. 

II. " That ye love one another/' I have thus spoken 
of this parting injunction of the Kedeemer. Of this 
heavenly grace we know, alas, little but the name. The 
models of greatness which we dream of in youth and 
which we admire in mature age, are they not men of the 
world, leaders in the world, who utterly despise this pre- 
cept ? And even in the Church our eulogiums of this 
love are, I had almost said, epitaphs upon a dead virtue. 
If a man complies with some natural impulses of hu- 
manity, if he expends some small sums in alms, he is 
regarded as a charitable man, though he indulge in cal- 



84 THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

umny, vmdictiveness, and every form of selfishness. But 
without love nothing is charity. " Though I bestow all 
my goods to feed the poor, and have not love, it profiteth 
rae nothing/' If a man contributes to build churches, 
and is zealous about ceremonies, and rites, and dogmas, 
he is a model of devotion, though he be ever so intol- 
erant and bigoted. But without love nothing is devo- 
tion. " Though I give my body to be burned, and have 
not love, it profiteth me nothing." In our remaining 
article I am going to examine what there is of novelty in 
this injunction. For Jesus designates this precept as a 
new enactment. "A new commandment give I unto 
you, that ye love one another/' 

Now, at first this seems strange, for to love others 
was an old commandment ; it pervades the old Testa- 
ment, and* Jesus himself gives it as an epitome of the 
second table of the decalogue. How then can it be called 
new ? This is a question which has excited much dis- 
cussion ; in fact, however, John, who records the text, 
has furnished an explanation. In his first epistle he 
says, " Brethren, I write no new commandment unto 
you, but an old commandment which ye had from the 
beginning ; again a new commandment I write unto you, 
which thing is true in him and in you, because the dark- 
ness is past, and the true light now shineth/' And he 
then enforces the new command of love to our brother. 
To love, then, is an old commandment ; but now, since 
Christ has come to save us, it* is new, because a light is 
thrown upon this duty which presents it in aspects and 
with motives never known before. 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 85 

This is the general exposition given by the Holy 
Spirit. And if you require me to go into detail, and to 
specify in what respects this precept is new, the answer 
is easy. For it is manifest, in the first place, that, un- 
der the gospel, this commandment appeals to a new 
principle. The affection here required is not what the 
world calls friendship, for it is to be recognized by " all 
men" as the distinctive trait of a disciple. It is an affec- 
tion springing from faith ; hence " Add to your faith — 
brotherly kindness." It is, in fact, a reverberation of 
our love to God. 

I will explain myself; and, for this, purpose, let me 
ask you to consider carefully this language of the Apos- 
tle, " He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, 
how can he love God whom he hath not seen ?" Now, 
does not this reasoning seem to you very illogical ? Is 
it easier, then, to love a man with all his defects before 
me, than to love the blessed God ? The solution of this 
difficulty is found in the nature of the love inculcated. 
It is not attachment to a human being for his natural 
excellencies, but complacency in the image of God re- 
flected by him. If this likeness, thus brought near and 
vividly in contact with our senses, has no charm for us, 
how can we pretend to love God, whose character we 
can only dimly apprehend by faith. " Every one that 
loveth him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten 
of him." Now, Jesus has made a new revelation of the 
Father. "When we say that God is a king, we speak 
metaphorically ; but his fatherhood is not a figure. That 
we are not the inhabitants of a forlorn, forsaken, father- 



86 THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

less world— »that God sustains to us relations infinitely 
more tender and enduring than those between us and 
the parents from whom have sprung only our bodies — 
this is a glorious, strengthening, rejoicing truth. It is, 
however, a truth which patriarch and prophet never 
reached. Among the proofs of depravity which every- 
where met his eye, none seems to have affected the 
Saviour more than this ignorance. He saw the world 
living as if the fatherhood of God were a falsehood. 
Hence that melancholy exclamation, " righteous 
Father ! the world hath not known thee ;" and hence 
his constant anxiety to elevate the minds and hearts 
of his disciples to this great truth. Jesus revealed 
•the Father; and what a revelation ! "God so loved 
the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believe th in him should not perish but have 
everlasting life." Such a manifestation not only sheds 
amazing glory on our race, but binds us together by the 
dearest brotherhood. The old commandment' was writ- 
ten on stone ; but it becomes new, because it is now en- 
graved upon the heart by rays which come directly from 
the love of God as it shines in the face of Jesus. We 
feel at once and instinctively, that " if God so loved us, 
we ought also to love one another ;" that " he who lov- 
eth God should love his brother also." 

This first remark suggests a second. If this love to 
our brethren be an emanation and reflection of our love 
to God, it will of course embrace all who are the chil- 
dren of God ; and the commandment is, therefore, new, 
not only in its principle, but in its extent. 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 87 

It is a fearful observation of Hezel, but too true, 
that u to nothing is man more inclined than to the ha- 
tred of man/' What an appalling lesson in those words 
of the Apostle, " This is the message which y.e had 
from the beginning, that ye should love one another. 
Not as Cain, # who was of that wicked one and slew his 
brother/' That is to say, the want of love is secret ha- 
tred, and this hatred only waits .for provocation to com- 
mit murder. Indeed, " He that hateth his brother, is a 
murderer/' Even in the Old Testament, love was lim- 
ited, partial, selfish. There, it is "My G-od." Jesus 
first taught us to say " Our Father/' thereby abolishing 
all exclusiveness, and establishing a new and heavenly 
union among all the children of Grod. 

My brethren, this is a sublime truth. I know not 
how it affects you, but the more I revolve it, the more 
intensely am I conscious that Jesus was more than man. 
Consider who he was ; if he possessed not the divinity he 
claimed, he was then only a poor, obscure, unlearned 
youth, and that youth a Hebrew. How impossible for 
him not to imbibe the prejudices of his nation, which 
caused them to shrink from all contact with other peo- 
ple, as defiling. When I recollect the age in which 
Jesus appeared, and the nation from which he sprang ; 
and then hear him revealing this doctrine — a doctrine 
which, even at this day, after eighteen hundred years, is 
still new and unintelligible to most Christians — I con- 
fess I feel a conviction which I cannot express, of his 
immeasurable elevation above humanity. And I feel, 
too, that the bonds in which the gospel unites his fol- 



88 THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

lowers are new bonds, comprehending all in one new 
body ; that in him there is " neither Jew nor Greek, there 
is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female/' 
there is neither rich nor poor, honored nor obscure, alien 
nor kindred, stranger nor friend, but "all are one in 
Christ Jesus/' All other ties and relations are subordi- 
nated to this re-ligion — this new spiritual affinity which 
re-binds us to Christ and to each other. 

" The Son of man is come to seek and to save that 
which was lost/' Separated from God, men are walled 
off from each other by selfish and hostile distinctions. 
To repair these unnatural breaches, the " Son of God" 
became the " Son of man" — not of any particular man, 
but of humanity. He thus put himself in communi- 
cation with our common nature, that he might attract 
us all to God, and unite us all to one another by new 
and heavenly ties. Those who have learned of Jesus 
will rejoice in- the spiritual equality of all who are in 
him. As applied to any of them, the term " lower 
orders," too often heard in the church and pulpit, is a 
direct insult to the Eedeemer. When, where, did the 
carpenter's Son ever use or teach such an epithet ? 

And this brings us to a third novelty in this com- 
mand of the Saviour. I mean its spirituality. The 
love mentioned in our text is affection, not only for the 
bodies, but for the souls of our brethren. 

If it be a grand truth that Jesus came to reveal the 
Father to man, it is another grand truth that he came 
to reveal man to himself. You all know the effect of 
familiarity in .dulling our sensibilities, so that the orb 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 89 

of day, in his noontide glory, attracts less attention than 
the blaze of a meteor or the glare of a rocket. But for 
this deadening influence of familiarity, we would at 
once be struck with the startling originality of Christ's 
teachings as to the soul of man. That our nature is 
spiritual, I believe, indeed, to be one of the radical 
truths received from God at the creation ; but human- 
ity had lost it, scarcely a dim echo of it had been trans- 
mitted. 

Like the royal child of whom we read, man had de- 
generated from the pristine consciousness of his dignity. 
Why, even now, and in lands called Christian — nay, in 
churches called Christian — how few really and practi- 
cally recognize the soul. Jesus proclaimed this truth — a 
truth which our nature longed to hear. In his teachings 
the soul is everything. Little cared he for what was 
external. He heeded neither the trappings of the prince 
nor the rags of the beggar. Beneath all, through all, 
he saw a soul whose dignity and worth transcend finite 
thought ; and with what warnings, with what intense 
earnestness, with what weeping entreaties and expostu- 
lations did he not seek to awaken in man a sense of the 
existence and glory and danger of that immortal spirit. 
This was the source of the bitter tears he shed — not 
poverty nor sickness, nor sorrow, nor the death of man's 
body — but the soul, which was everywhere overlooked 
and wronged, and about to perish for ever. 

This caused him to cling to every human being with 
an interest which no guilt could destroy, a compassion 
which no injuries nor insults could exhaust. The only 



90 THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

charge which his enemies could ever prove against him 
was conveyed in that sneer, " This man receiveth sin- 
ners and eateth with them/' And, catching his spirit, 
breathing an atmosphere yet warm, vibrating with the 
benedictions of their ascended Lord, see what a new 
passion inflames the souls of his disciples. Observe, 
first, their love among themselves. Selfishness is ex- 
pelled by a new and absorbing devotion to each other. 
They are initiated into a new brotherhood which aston- 
ishes the men of the world, who — unable to comprehend 
this mystery — exclaim, " See how these Christians love 
one another !" Nor did they only identify themselves 
with each other. The spirit which Jesus bequeathed to 
them could not find adequate vent in the Church, it 
overleaped all restraints, and inaugurated an enterj)rise 
which was and still is the most glorious spectacle to 
angels. Men traversing the earth and enduring toil and 
suffering, not for gain, but for love to their enemies ; 
men renouncing home, wealth, ease, honor, and wel- 
coming poverty, reproach, shipwreck, dungeons, cruel 
deaths — not to win honor or fame, but to serve the 
souls of others — here was a phenomenon — here was a 
wonderful epoch in the archives of created intelligences. 
This new revelation of the transcendant glory of the 
soul flooded the hearts of that little band of Apostles, 
and sent them through the world, burning with a zeal 
and love which were indefatigable and inextinguishable. 
A fourth novelty in the Saviour's command is its 
comprehensiveness ; for it embraces and renders super- 
fluous all other commands. A testator, about to die, 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 91 

executes a new will, which, while it ratifies, supersedes 
all former wills. 

Manifold are the duties which the word and spirit of 
Christ require us to perform toward each other, but 
"love is the fulfilling of the whole law/' The life, 
health, property, purity, reputation, happiness, salvation 
of a brother — these should be sacred to us. To injure a 
Christian in either of these respects is such a sin that 
Jesus declares " It were better for a man that a mill- 
stone were hanged about his neck, and he drowned in the 
depths of the sea," than to wrong the humblest of his 
people. But if love reign in our hearts, no enactment 
will be needed as to these obligations ; our conduct will 
be regulated by a higher and holier motive than the dread 
of penalty. Every former commandment is merged in 
this commandment, every duty is comprised in this duty. 

It is, however, above all, in the type, and example, 
and measure of love prescribed, that this precept is 
.unique and singular ; for we are to love each other as 
Christ hath loved us. "A new commandment give I 
unto you, that ye love one another ; as I have loved you 
that ye also love one another." 

I wish you, my friends, to feel this closing remark. 
And that I may impress it upon your hearts, let me 
remind you that, in speaking of a new commandment, 
Jesus plainly refers to the moral code published on Sinai. 
This was sealed and ratified with blood. " Neither was 
the first testament dedicated without blood. For when 
Moses had spoken every precept to all the people, ac- 
cording to the law, he took the blood of calves, and of 



92 THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

goats, with water and with scarlet wool, and hyssop, and 
sprinkled both the book and all the people, saying, This 
is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined 
unto you/' 

Now, when the Saviour uttered the commandment in 
our text, he was seated at the table upon which the sup- 
per had just been received ; he had just instituted that 
solemn and touching ordinance, saying, " This is my 
body which is broken for you, this is ray blood which is 
shed for you" — thus dedicating this new testament with 
his own blood. And, thus consecrated and enforced^ 
well may this commandment be called new. " As I have 
loved you \" this is his own interpretation of the new- 
ness of the command ; but who can comprehend all the 
import of these words ? How many admonitions, and 
reproofs, and exhortations are condensed into that single 
sentence. 

A love how attentive ! as considerate and assiduous 
as the love of a woman. Are others hungry? he works 
miracles to feed them, but will not employ his power for 
himself even when famishing in the wilderness. Are his 
disciples weary? he bids them "come apart and rest 
awhile/' but gives no repose to his exhausted frame. 
Even in his agony, he is concerned to provide a home 
and tender sympathy for John, whose heart would be 
most bitterly wrung by his bereavement, as well as for 
his mother. " When Jesus therefore saw his mother, 
and the disciple standing by whom he loved, he saith un- 
to his mother, Woman, behold thy son ! Then saith he 
to the disciple, Behold thy mother." And we are to love 



THE NEW 'COMMANDMENT. 93 

as he loved, with the same considerate and assiduous 
solicitude. 

A love how confiding ! " Having loved his own, 
which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." 
Often had they been faithless ; and now, while address- 
ing them, he knows that they will all in a few hours for- 
sake him. Yet he trusts them ; he opens his whole 
heart to them ; he commits his cause to their keeping. 
And we must love as he loved. Nothing so alienates hu- 
man hearts as suspicion ; nothing cements others to us 
more strongly, and more certainly secures fidelity and de- 
votion, than confidence. 

A love so condescending, that it stoops to the most 
meliial office of kindness and hospitality. It was just 
before uttering the text, that he performed an act, which 
I can never recall without tears, when I remember his 
consciousness of ineffable majesty. " And Jesus know- 
ing that the Father had given all things into his hands, 
and that he was come from God, and went to God ; he 
riseth from supper and laid aside his garment, and took 
a towel and girded himself. After that he poureth wa- 
ter into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, 
and to wipe them with the towel, wherewith he was 
girded/' And we are to love as he loved. " Ye call me 
Lord and Master, and ye say well ; for so I am. If I, 
then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye 
also ought to wash one another's feet." 

Love so compassionate, that he not only pronounces 
every sin, however aggravated, pardonable, if only against 
himself, but he is ingenious in finding apologies for all 



94 THE NEW COMM*ANDMENT. 

the weaknesses, even for the baseness and treachery, of 
those whom he had trusted. Could anything be more 
unfeeling than the want of sympathy in his three chosen 
friends in the garden ? They could not, for one hour, 
watch with him in his sore anguish But he pities them, 
and excuses them, saying, " The spirit indeed is willing 
but the flesh is weak/' Was ever such vileness as that 
of Thomas, who stubbornly rejects all proofs, and dic- 
tates the most unreasonable not to say impious condi- 
tions ? But Jesus not only forgives him, he complies 
with the demands of this perverse disciple. All forsook 
him, and Peter denied him. Does he resent this per- 
fidiousness ? Scarcely has he risen, before he sends a 
special message of love to Peter, " Go tell my disciples 
and Peter;" and he appears to the Apostles without a 
word of reproof, with assurances of devotion which no 
ingratitude, no turpitude could alter. 

Love so disinterested, that he entirely forgets himself 
when his friends are in sorrow or danger. The fearful 
hour of his crucifixion is at hand, but he is solely occu- 
pied in encouraging and comforting those whom he is 
about to leave as orphans in the world. The armed 
band approaches in^the night, he at once throws himself 
between them and the Apostles, hastening to immolate 
himself, that he may cover his disciples. "If ye seek 
me," he says, " let these go their way." And when toil- 
ing up the hill, bearing his cross, he is unwilling that 
the women should be afflicted for him. " Daughters of 
Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and 
for your children." 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 95 

But I will never have clone upon this subject. " Hav- 
ing loved his own which were in the world, he loved them 
unto the end/' Having devoted his whole life to his 
disciples, so that he could appeal to them, " if they had 
lacked anything/' he now welcomes death and pours out 
his blood for them. " Christ loved the church and gave 
himself for it." " Greater love hath no man than this, 
that a man lay down his life for his friends." . 

On the cross he bears our burden, that we might 
learn to "bear one another's burdens." Eisen, he re- 
mains forty days upon the earth, teaching us that no 
prospect of happiness should cause us to forget our 
brethren. Ascending, his eyes turn not to the radiant 
gates which are lifted up to usher him into glory, they 
are bent upon objects dearer to his heart, upon his little 
flock — whom he "is blessing" as he rises from the earth, 
and continues blessing until " a cloud" of angels receives 
him out of their right. Nor has his love known, nor 
will it ever know, any abatement. " The Forerunner is 
for us entered" into heaven. In the midst of the throne 
he still loves to wear our humanity, he is still " a mer- 
ciful High Priest touched with the feeling of our infirmi- 
ties." No elevation can weaken his sympathy for the 
humblest Christian. Surrounded by glorified worship- 
pers, his delight is still in his church upon earth. The 
salvation of sinners was " the joy set before him" in the 
days of his suffering pilgrimage here ; and it is when be- 
holding the peace and happiness and safety of his peo- 
ple, that he " sees of the travail of his soul and is satis- 
fied." "A friend of publicans and sinners !" this was 



96 THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

the contemptuous derision flung against him by the su- 
perb Pharisees. He does not repel the impeachment ; 
he glories in it. He prefers that title above all his titles. 
All over this guilty earth he would have it proclaimed ; 
he would have it inscribed on every pulpit, and recorded 
in every human heart ; and yonder where he sits with 
cherubim and seraphim falling at his feet, it is written 
upon his blazing diadem, " The friend of publicans and 
sinners." 

My brethren, my beloved brethren, what a type, 
what a pattern of love is this ; and thus to love is the 
-normal condition of humanity to which Jesus has come 
to restore us. Behold how he loved us ! " He saved 
others/' said his enemies, " himself he could not save ;" 
how could he, since it was by the - sacrifice of himself 
that others were to be saved ? Let us cultivate a love 
like this. It is to be cultivated ; it is not an impulse, 
but a principle ; it is not natural to us, now in our 
fallen state, but is a fruit of the Spirit, and is to be 
habitually nourished and strengthened. " Eecollect we 
have no evidence of piety, if we are destitute of this 
love. " We know that we have passed from death unto 
life, because we love the brethren/' " He that loveth 
not his brother^ abideth in death." Without this love 
we can never enter heaven ; nor, if admitted there, would 
it be heaven to us. 

But I will not, I cannot urge any argument of fear ; 
let me press other and tenderer pleas. My brethren, if 
the blood of Christ be precious to us, let us love one 
another ; it is by that blood that this precept is conse- 



THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 97 

crated and charged upon us. If the truth, the cause of 
Christ, be dear to us ; let us love one another ; the tri- 
umph of that truth, the success of that cause, depend 
upon our harmony : " That they all may be one, that 
the world may know that thou hast sent me." Lastly, 
the farewell, dying words of one dear to us always sink 
deep in our hearts ; then let, oh ! let this last parting 
entreaty of the Eedeemer be engraven on our souls, let 
it be incorporated into our very being — rebuking our 
selfishness — correcting our prejudices — calming our pas- 
sions — expanding our affections — binding us, not in de- 
nominational, but in Christian union. He that loves 
his party more than the image of God in his brother — ■ 
though that image be stamped on inferior metal and 
very imperfect — really loves his party more than Christ, 
and himself more than everything. 

" A new commandment give I unto you, that ye 
love one another. As I have loved you, that ye also 
love one another" — a love not only in spite of differ- 
ences, but in spite of ingratitude and injuries — a love 
linking us all to Christ and each to the other, by ties 
which shall outlive every earthly connection, which shall 
become stronger and closer and dearer with each revolv- 
ing cycle of eternity. God grant that this love may 
flow from his own heart and circulate through all our 
hearts ! May it evermore dwell in us all richly ! " For 
this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and 
earth is named, that he would grant you according to 
the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might 

5 



98 THE NEW COMMANDMENT. 

by bis Spirit in the inner man ; that Christ may dwell 
in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and 
grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all 
saints, what is the breadth and depth and height, and 
to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, 
that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 
Now unto him who is able to do exceeding abundantly 
above all that we can ask or think; according to the 
power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the 
church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world with- 
out end. Amen." 



SERMON IV. 

THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

"Then was Nebuchadnezzar fall of fury, and the form of his visage was 
changed against Shadraeh, Meshach, and Abednego ; therefore he spake 
and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more 
than it was wont to be heated. 

" And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to 
bind Shadracb, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burn- 
ing fiery furnace." — Daniel, hi. 19, 20. 

" I am no hypocrite. I make no profession of reli- 
gions—that is to say, you boast of your open and con- 
sistent enmity to God. 

This is not the worst. This impiety of conversation, 
which we every day hear, if it means anything, insinu- 
ates of course that a profession of religion can never be 
sincerely made — that there is no such thing as true 
piety ; and proves the people who talk thus to be, not 
only sinners in their lives, but infidels in their hearts. 

I only wish these cynics would study the narrative 
now before us. It is said that no one can enter the 
presence of that matchless statue, the Apollo Belvidere, 
without instinctively standing erect, without feeling his 
own form at once dilate and become taller and nobler ; 
and the man is to be pitied, who can contemplate the 



100 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

moral grandeur of these youthful heroes, without being 
conscious of I know not what elevation of heart and 
purpose. A true soul will turn from the record of such 
undaunted loyalty to God and conscience, with a fresh 
outfit of faith and hope. For my own part, whenever I 
am discouraged and dejected, I read this chapter ; and 
never do I finish, but I find myself repeating these words 
of our poet, 

11 Thus though oft depressed and lonely, 
All my fears are laid aside, 
If I but remember only, 

Such as these have lived and died." 

I. In unfolding the lessons of the text, let us begin 
with the narrative, let us analyze this passage in the his- 
tory of our race ; for there are several desultory but very 
instructive reflections which it at once suggests to our 
minds. And, first, who can look at the scene here por- 
trayed, without blushing for the degeneracy and cor- 
ruption of our race ? 

The spectacle presents a brilliant panorama. The 
morning is bright, and the eastern sun is kindling a 
blaze all over the plains of Dura, as its beams are re- 
flected from silver and gold and diamonds, in which 
princes, satraps, peers, the whole jewelled aristocracy of 
that magnificent court, are arrayed. High on a throne 
of royal state, gorgeous with barbaric pomp and splen- 
dor, sits the Chaldean monarch. And from the centre 
of this oriental and most imposing pageant, soars aloft, 
glittering and dazzling, the colossal image, the cynosure 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 101 

of every eye — attracting the admiration and homage of 
that uncounted multitude. 

The spectacle is grand ; but what an exhibition of 
human nature ! The Apostle represents all nature as 
groaning under the disorders of the present economy. 
And look where I will, I am shocked by the revolting 
contrast between the beauty of the natural world and 
the depravity of the beings who inhabit that world. I 
place myself in the midst of this landscape. The entire 
plain is one garden. On every side I behold the earth 
carpeted with the softest *green, enamelled with a flush- 
ing luxuriance of variegated and fragrant flowers. Cool 
fountains gush up in the groves, and transparent streams 
murmur through the valley. I breathe delicious odors. 
I am refreshed by the balmiest zephyrs. Heaven and 
earth are rejoicing in their loveliness. 

From nature I turn to man, and what do I fftid ? 
Kecollect, here is no mob of the ignorant and brutal, but 
the monarch and his patricians — all the gathered wis- 
dom, refinement, honor, of the empire. And what do 
we detect in them ? Detect, did I say ? "What do we 
see openly and superciliously displayed in them all ? 
Idolatry, hostility to Grod, selfishness, cruelty, the most 
vindictive malice. In this countless host what a diver- 
sity of talent and taste and character ; but those detes- 
table passions reign in every bosom. And this depravity 
flows from an inexhaustible fountain in the human 
heart. " Out of the heart/' says Jesus, " proceed evil 
thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covet- 
ousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, 



102 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

blasphemy, foolishness. All these come from within" 
They are not accidents, temporary diseases caused by 
external agencies, and which may be removed. They 
" come from ivithin"— issue naturally from hearts which 
are corrupt, and will continue corrupt until the Holy 
Spirit shall purify them. 

Men and brethren, we know that " God created man 
in his own image/' and pronounced him " very good/' 
We know, therefore, what is man's normal condition. 
The proper character of an angel is that of a being who 
loves and worships God. You.cannot conceive him the 
reverse of this, without feeling that he is fallen. The 
natural, normal state of man .is that of a being who 
adores his Creator, and loves his fellow-man with a 
brother's tender affection. Whence, then — if we deny 
that first catastrophe which was not only a crime, but a 
crisis; changing altogether our primeval glory — whence 
has it come to pass, that wherever we meet a company 
of human beings, no matter how refined, we take it for 
granted they have no piety, no love for God ? and that, 
not only in this Babylonish empire, but in all the pop- 
ulation of the earth, superstition, enmity to God, envy, 
hatred, malice, selfishness in every form, are the ruling 
passions ? "What a frightful degeneracy this. And 
what a proof of our depravity, that such a hideous phe- 
nomenon affects us so little, is really not regarded at all. 

That this prevalence of moral evil in the world is an 
awful mystery, I at once admit ; nor, when revealing 
this dismal truth, can a devout mind find any relief but 
in the assurance that unerring though inscrutable Wis- 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 103 

dom is ordering all things so as to accomplish the pur- 
poses of perfect goodness. This, however, is certain, 
that if God have a controversy with men, they on their 
part are not backward to urge this controversy with un- 
relenting malignity. 

In all this multitude here are only three men who 
worship the true God, and what have they done ? whom 
have they injured ? They hold high offices and are 
honored by all for their incorruptible fidelity. Their 
only crime is their piety, and for this they are marked 
off and hated. Nor has it ever been otherwise. Where- 
ever loyal servants of Jehovah have arisen, they have 
attracted the fiercest hostility. Kings and rulers, priests 
and people, have taken counsel together against the 
Lord and against his anointed ; hunting for the pre- 
cious blood ; and, like Herod and Pilate,* quelling all 
private feuds, while conspiring for the destruction of the 
saints. 

Brethren, it is simple mockery to speak of liberty, if 
the mind and conscience be not free. Yet where can we 
look, if men have power, without seeing that power de- 
spotically warring against spiritual freedom ? 

The persons, the property, the lives of his subjects 
are at the absolute disposal of the Chaldean autocrat. 
This, however, is not enough. His imperial mandate 
shall control their religion, shall fetter their souls. Nor 
was this haughty arrogance peculiar to that day or that 
kingdom. It is the very spirit which now proscribes and 
persecutes the disciples of Christ in Europe, in Christian, 
nay in Protestant Europe, so called. 



104 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

If any tiling be incontestable in history, it is, that 
wherever governments have undertaken to propagate 
religion, it has always been a false religion; and that 
the}' have subverted the foundations of all true piety, by 
attaching mercenary advantages to one set of opinions, 
and penalties to another set of opinions. The ends of 
government are temporal, not spiritual. The Saviour 
possessed omnipotence, but he did not use it to enforce 
his religion by measures having no relation to the truth 
of his doctrine. He said, u All power in heaven and in 
earth is given unto me, Go teach all nations." The 
Apostles constantly enjoined obedience to governments, 
declaring that they " are ordained of God ;" yet they 
scorned the thought of surrendering the conscience to 
any earthly authority — thus showing that they Regarded 
the jurisdiction of governments as entirely temporal. It 
was upon this great principle that the young heroes 
before us acted ; but it is a principle which has, in all 
ages, been dreaded and hated by tyrants. 

Eeturning to Nebuchadnezzar, we see in him a man 
so intoxicated with power that he not only asserts his 
authority over the souls of all in his vast empire, but 
insanely resolves to make a public and pompous display 
of the servility of the people over whom he will " sit as 
God." An image of gold shall be made — of course not 
of solid gold, but gilded. It shall be threescore cubits 
— ninety feet — in height, and six cubits in breadth. 
Despatches shall traverse the whole realm, and all the 
nobility and chivalry of the land shall attend. Bands 
of music shall fill the air with harmonious strains ; and, 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 105 

at that signal, all shall prostrate themselves in the dust, 
and worship the image which he has set up. 

This narrative is invested with a peculiar interest 
when we recollect the history of this prince. God had 
crowned his reign with great prosperity. Not only had 
he subdued all other nations, but the chosen people of 
God had been delivered into his hands. Among those 
whom he carried captive to Babylon were four young 
men of high rank, of great personal beauty, and so ac- 
complished in learning and wisdom that, " in all matters 
of wisdom and understanding, the king found them ten 
times better than all the magicians and astrologers in the 
realm/' 

Daniel was one of these young noblemen. And on a 
memorable occasion he had so informed the king as to a 
dream, and so interpreted a vision, that Nebuchadnezzar 
acknowledged the God of these Hebrews as a" God of 
gods, and Lord of kings/' and conferred distinguished 
appointments not only upon him, but upon his three 
friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. This will 
account for the king's conduct to these Jews. It is plain 
he feels kindly toward them ; for, though enraged, he re- 
spites the sentence, and sends for them, and expostulates 
with them, offering them another opportunity. " Is it 
true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye 
serve my gods nor worship the golden image which I 
have set up ? Now if ye be ready that at what time ye 
hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psal- 
tery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down, 
and worship the image which I have made, well." 

5* 



106 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

This appeal must have touched the hearts of these 
young men. To "brave the vengeance of the emperor was 
not easy ; but here was something more painful. A 
monarch can only rule over the body ; but a benefactor 
is king in the heart ; and they are called to resist a sov- 
ereign who had loaded them with honors. Nebuchad- 
nezzar had elevated them from bondage to dignity ; 
shall they be ungrateful? They are governors of the 
province ; shall they set the first example of insubordi- 
nation ? And, after all, if they obey, it will be only an 
act of outward prostration ; the heart will remain loyal ; 
and why not imitate another distinguished courtier, with 
whose history they were familiar, and who had estab- 
lished a precedent for such cases ? "In this one thing," 
6aid Naaman, " the Lord pardon thy servant, that when 
my master goeth into the house of Eimmon to worship 
there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in 
the house of Eimmon ; when I bow down myself in the 
house of Eimmon, the Lord pardon thy servant for this 
one thing/' The prophet seemed to admit such a plea 
in that case ; why should it not be valid now ? 

II. And this brings me from these desultory remarks 
to consider more directly the conduct of these Hebrews, 
and the example which God here proposes of that 
constancy and decision of character, without which 
we can neither be true to truth, to Jesus, nor to our- 
selves. 

My brethren, decision of character must never be con- 
founded with obstinacy. Firmness tempered with gen- 
tleness, this is what we need, if we are to be real Chris- 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 107 

tians. The m ore you study the conduct of the Kedeemer 
the more will you admire the peerless combination of 
these virtues in him. In his character, as a man, noth- 
ing is more divine ; and in human character nothing is 
more rare. It is not at all uncommon to meet people 
who pique themselves on firmness and decision ; when 
in fact it is mere, sheer, downright stubbornness they be- 
tray — a perverse, self-willed pertinacity — in which there 
is no more moral force than there is in the dead weight 
which fixes a heavy, inert mass of rock to the earth. 

The other quaiity, gentleness, is more amiable, but it 
is scarcely ever united with the highest energy. There 
is softness, tenderness, sweetness of disposition ; but the 
character is effeminate. There are none of those stirring 
passions, and restless aspirations — those tumults and 
self-upbraidings — that indignation, and fear, and vehe- 
ment desire, and zeal, and revenge, and poignant disgust, 
and impulsive ardor, which precipitate the soul on great 
enterprises, just as the young eagle must be flung from 
the softness of its nest, and compelled either to perish or- 
to battle with the tempest. 

Firmness tempered with gentleness — this is true de- 
cision of character ; not the rigid, inexorable, iron hard- 
ness of the dead tree, which cannot bend without 
breaking ; nor the weakness of the osier which bends 
and remains bent ; but the innate, elastic vigor of the 
young oak, which only becomes more erect, and strikes 
its roots more deeply into the earth, by yielding to every 
breeze and complying with every pressure. I will not, 
however, detain you with ethical definitions. Examples 



108 TIIE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

teach us more directly and impressively than discus- 
sions ; and we might explore all the annals of our race, 
without finding a more illustrious model of this sublime 
virtue than that displayed in the conduct of these young 
officers. 

What is the first element in true decision of charac- 
ter ? It is an inflexible and controlling adherence to 
the will of God in all things and at all times. Well, 
look at these Hebrews. They wish to oblige the king ; 
duty, gratitude bind them to him. They have, too, the 
example of the court and all the magnates of the land ; 
and how potent is the universal verdict ; what crimes 
will it not sanction ? But God forbids idolatry, and 
his command is the supreme law to them. 

What is the next element in true decision of char- 
acter ? It is a spirit armed and intrepid in facing dan- 
ger, in'meeting the responsibilities of our station. Well, 
look at these Hebrews. 

Ah, my brethren, how j)rone are we to shrink from 
duty. We read the story of martyrs and confessors, 
and we admire in them a heroism which turns into con- 
tempt all the glory of those splendid sinners on whom 
the world bestows crowns while they live, and over 
whom the world garnishes superb mausoleums when 
they die. We read, we admire, but we shudder at the 
thought, " What if we were thrust forth to such terri- 
ble pains and ordeals ?" Poverty, contempt, dangers, 
racks gibbets, flames — these are strong logic ; great 
souls they who are not convinced by such arguments, 
For our parts, we hope we are Christians, but we 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 109 

congratulate ourselves that we live in this land, and in 
an age where no such sacrifices are demanded. As if 
a piety which costs nothing, is not always worth exactly 
what it costs ; as if the very test of genuine piety, is 
not a readiness to do everything, and sacrifice every- 
thing, and suffer everything for Jesus. 

These Jews were men of a different spirit. At first, 
indeed, we are tempted to ask, Why did they come on 
the ground at all ? But — not to remark that cowardice 
could have availed them nothing— it never can avail any- 
thing in the cause of God — was it for men like them to 
be afraid ? Was this a time for the servants of the 
Most High to be craven ? Here is no small matter ; a 
great soul will never concern itself about small matters. 
God and his glory are about to be outraged. Before 
their departure from Jerusalem, the prophet had warned 
them that they were going among a people who would 
hew trees and " deck them with silver and gold/' and his 
farewell charge had been, "Fear them not ;" and now 
they remember his words. Let others prove recreant, 
they will not fear what man can do unto them ; they 
will be present, and the king and all his gathered nobles 
shall know whose they are and whom they serve. Their 
bodies are captive, but their souls are free. By the 
rivers of Babylon they had sat down and wept when 
they remembered Zion ; their harps were hanging upon 
the willows ; but Jerusalem, if we forget thee ; Israel's 
God, if we dishonor thee ; let our right hand forget 
its cunning, let our tongues cleave to the roofs of our 
mouths. 



110 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

The third element in decision of character grows out 
of those just indicated. It is a brave disregard of con- 
sequences. The moment we begin to think of expediency 
— to inquire tremulously, What, if we are faithful, will 
be the effect on our interest or position or reputation ? 
that moment we are gone, we have fallen. Before these 
ycomg men the alternative, if they refuse to worship 
the image, fills the imagination with horror. Not only 
would they forfeit wealth and honor and liberty, but 
they would be cast into the midst of the burning fiery 
furnace. Nothing, however, can move them, neither 
count they their lives dear unto themselves, so that they 
may finish their course with joy. There they stand, 

"Faithful found; 
Unshaken, undismayed, unterrified, 
Their loyalty they- kept, their zeal, their love; 
Not numbers nor example with them wrought ' 
To swerve from truth, or change their constant minds." 

And all this strenuousness of purpose is perfectly 
calm, as real strength always is calm. The king is "full 
of fury, and the form of his visage is changed toward 
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego ;" but they are serene 
and dignified. His face is pale with rage, his eyes 
sparkle, he storms and fulminates vengeance ; they are 
composed and self-possessed. " Oh, Nebuchadnezzar, 
we are not careful to answer thee in this matter;" there 
is no room for argument in this case, our duty is clear, 
and we cannot reason about, it. True decision of char- 
acter is always calm, and, because calm, it is effective. 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. Ill 

It never surrenders to indolence or parleying the deter- 
minations it has formed, but makes the " deed go" with 
" the flighty purpose/' 

I was right, then, when I pronounced the conduct of 
these Hebrews a grand illustration of the noblest decis- 
ion and constancy. This, however, is not all. Not 
only do we see here what are the elements of this rare 
virtue, but we see, too, what is the principle by which 
this virtue must be inbred and nourished, and made 
triumphant ; I mean faith, faith in God. " They that 
trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot 
be. moved." Faith! what a word of power is that; 
tod how little do they know of the meaning of that term 
in the Spirit's vocabulary who suppose that faith can 
minister to selfishness or licentiousness. It can no more 
coexist with these vices, than fire and straw can remain 
together in a glowing oven. 

Men and brethren, a simple trust in God is the most 
essential ingredient in moral sublimity of character. It 
elevates a man high above all the earth, and equips him 
to bear anything, and to brave everything. If God be 
for him, who can be against him ? Let the whole world 
be in arms ; what is the whole world, to such a man, 
but a molehill covered with insects ? Eead the eleventh 
chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews — that splendid 
roll of honor. What achievements are there ascribed to 
this imperial grace. And as the Apostle refers to Dan- 
iel when he says that " by faith some have stopped the 
mouths of lions," so his soul is evidently exulting in the 
prowess of these young champions when he declares 



112 THE THREE HEBREWS IX THE FURNACE. 

that " by faith some had quenched the violence of 
fire." 

My friends, how indispensable energy and courage 
are to the Christian, you need not be told. Would you 
be useful ? you must be decided ; piety is not enough : 
you must have a reputation for piety. Would you not 
dishonor your profession ? you must be decided ; like 
these young men, you must always and everywhere avow 
your loyalty to Jesus. In short, your safety, your hap- 
piness, your perseverance, every evangelical grace, re- 
quire and suppose intrepidity and constancy of soul. 

But, now, how can this firmness and fortitude be in- 
wrought and sustained in beings so feeble and incon- 
stant ? I answer, By faith, and faith only ; hence the 
exhortation, "Add to your faith virtue/' that is, cour- 
age. Faith is the source from' which this commanding 
grace must spring, and by which it 'must be fed ; and 
with what invincible courage, what undaunted contempt 
of danger and death, does not a simple trust in God in- 
spire these young heroes ? Then answer shows that 
complete ascendancy over nature, which belongs only to 
a soul reposing in the almightyness of Jehovah. " If 
it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us 
from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us, 
king. But if not, be it known unto thee, king, that 
we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image 
which thou hast set up." Noble answer, my brethren, 
sublime triumph of faith. 

For, remember, these men were courtiers and favor- 
ites of the kino;. But how difficult the fife of faith at 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 113 

a court. There selfishness is supreme ; there men throw 
the reins upon the necks of their passions ; there pride 
and ambition are inflamed ; there voluptuousness laps 
the soul in softest blandishments, and riots in delirious 
excesses ; there the man on the throne is God, and the 
God of heaven is forgotten. 

Another thought. Observe the noble singularity of 
the Hebrews. In reading this narrative I have felt my 
very soul stirred as I reflected upon the dreadful pause 
between the proclamation and the first strains of the 
band. The herald publishes aloud the decree of the 
monarch ; and as he ceases, all is hushed, a momentary 
breathless silence holds all that vast assemblage. What 
an interval to these Jews ! What thoughts are theirs — 
what prayers, what calm, stern intensity of purpose ! 
I see them encouraging one another to " play the men 
for their God/' and then lifting their eyes to heaven for 
strength and courage in this time of need. The soft 
tones of a flute breathe on the ear. All at once peals 
forth the full burst of that magnificent orchestra, pour- 
ing floods of music which roll along the plain ; and down, 
down to the earth, that whole multitude fall prostrate 
on their faces ; only these three young men are left still 
standing erect — a flush upon their brows, heaven in their 
eyes, Christ in their hearts, and the whole world under 
their feet. 

Nor was this any transient enthusiasm, one of those 
sudden impulses which may hurry a generous spirit to 
make heroic sacrifices, of which it may afterwards re- 
pent. For space is given them to reconsider their deter- 



114 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

i 

ruination, the king expostulates with them ; but they 
are immovable. 

And the secret principle of all this unshaken firm- 
ness is faith, simple faith in God. Those haughty nobles 
tremble before an earthly monarch ; these three men 
" endure as seeing him who is invisible/' That lordly 
crowd acknowledge that neither their bodies nor their 
souls are their own ; these saints of God also confess 
that they are not their own. Others hear the voice of 
the kind's herald ; in their souls is sounding a voice from 
heaven saying unto them, " Be faithful unto death, and 
*I will give you the crown of life." In a word, all around 
them are appalled by a sentence which can only destroy 
the body ; these Hebrews know there is One " who hath 
power to destroy both soul and body in hell/' and they 
fix their gaze steadfastly upon the fast approaching ret- 
ributions of eternity. ' 

III. It only remains that I say something as to the 
result of this fiery ordeal ; and impress upon you the 
great lesson it teaches — that when the child of God is 
called to enter the furnace, to endure some great trial, or 
make some noble sacrifices for truth, he will not be for- 
saken, sufficient grace shall be given him, his strength 
shall be as his day ; not only shall he be supported, but 
he " shall come out with great substance," and shall glo- 
rify God in the fires. Eenew your attention, and honor 
me still for a few moments. 

Finding these Hebrews resolved, his power defied, 
Nebuchadnezzar's rage increased to ferocity. • He com- 
manded the furnace to be heated " seven times hotter 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 115 

than it was wont to be/' and these men to be bound 
hand and foot, and to be cast into it. 

The expression, "than it was ivont to be/' shows 
that this furnace was the place of punishment for crimi- 
nals ; and it is probable that its floor was now a bed of 
the horrible ashes left by former executions. The sight 
was appalling ; that hell of fire, into which one could not 
be thrown, but immediately skin, and flesh, and sinews, 
and bones would become a living coal. But the order to 
bind these young men was qi;ite superfluous ; they were 
ready to enter the flames and be made " a spectacle to 
men and angels." 

From the narrative it appears, also, that the furnace 
was above ground and in sight of the throne, so that the 
monarch could witness the destruction of the culprits. 
But scarcely do the ministers of vengeance begin to en- 
force his orders, when God, who up to this moment had 
"kept silent/' comes down in terrible majesty, shedding 
fast atonement for his delay, vindicating his glory, and 
striking consternation into the hearts of all, especially 
of the king. 

My brethren, it is God's method, ever to cause the 
malice of those who persecute his people to recoil upon 
themselves. " The wicked is snared in the work of his 
own hands." " He made a pit and digged it, and is 
fallen into the ditch which he had made. His mischief 
shall return upon his own head, and his violent dealing 
shall come down upon his own pate." Look at Hainan ; 
what care and industry to build that lofty gallows for 
Mordecai. He little thought that he was going to swing 



116 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

there himself. And so here ; the very men who accuse 
these Jews, and who drag them to the furnace, perish in 
the fire. 

But, while this is the doom of their executioners — 

while burning streams rush forth, like fiery serpents, 

and twine and coil about them, and their shrieks rend 

the air, and the flames lick them up — where are their 

"victims ? how fares it with them? 

It is said, " they fell down into the midst of the 
burning fiery furnace ;" no doubt they anticipated the 
most exquisite torture ; what is their amazement when 
they experience only the most delightful sensations. 
They were cast in " bound hand and foot ;' ; the* fire 
consumes nothing but their cords ; and they walk about 
— knee deep in those red horrid ashes, the fire all around, 
above, and beneath — darting, shooting, surging, comb- 
ing, roaring— but they fanned by celestial breezes, sati- 
ated with celestial pleasures. They were only three 
poor friendless men who were thrown in ; but a fourth 
is with them now, and he is no frail mortal ; " the form 
of the fourth is like the Son of G-od." It is the same 
Being, my brethren, who, long afterwards, made a third 
in the afternoon walk to Emmaus ; and caused those 
gloomy disciples to exclaim, " Did not our hearts burn 
w r ithin us ?" This is ever his way. " I have chosen you 
in the furnace ;" I will meet you in the furnace. He 
has entered this furnace, and has set the very souls of 
these martyrs on fire. The king cannot burn their 
bodies, but, oh, the love of Christ is burning the very 
core of their hearts. The flames rage, and the walls of 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 117 

the furnace are melting with fervent heat, but there is 
that within them, soft indeed, ineffably gentle, but more 
violent and ravishing than fire. 

In short, this, to these Hebrews, is the happiest hour 
in all their lives ; the furnace is the coolest and most de- 
licious spot in the whole world ; that glowing pavement 
is more luxurious than carpets of down ; that waving, 
burning canopy casts a shade more refreshing than the 
bowers of Paradise. They were ready enough to go 
into the furnace ; the difficulty is to get them out. 
They wish to remain there forever, that they may taste 
this sweet communion, and quaff these heavenly joys. 
Not in all their after lives, could they have recalled 
these moments, without longing to revisit such a re- 
gion. The very word "furnace" must have been dear 
to them. 

And what is all this but the type of a Christian, 
when called to pass through the fire — trembling, per- 
haps, in view of the furnace — but afterwards, with 
adoring wonder and gratitude, exclaiming, "My Grod 
how good it is for me that I was afflicted ?" " No chas- 
tening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but griev- 
ous, nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable 
fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised 
thereby." 

This is not all. Not only is this furnace a sort of 
heaven to these noble youths, but see how they glorify 
God in this day of their visitation. My friends, when- 
ever a Christian is called to act or suffer for the truth, 
he is summoned as a witness for Jesus. It is of this 



118 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

testimony to God's faithfulness, the Apostle speaks, 
when he refers to " so great a cloud of witnesses." And 
what witnesses are these who are now "made a gazing 
stock" to an ungodly world ? 

Witnesses who testify from eternity. For the place 
in which they stand belongs not to this earth. When 
they fell down into the furnace, humanly speaking, they 
were dead men ; and when they stood up, it was life 
from the dead, they passed to the other side of death ; 
they now occupy a station where none hut immortals 
can live, and they are in company with an Immortal. 

Witnesses who look with sublime contempt upon the 
king and all the pomp and equipage of his power. Ne- 
buchadnezzar descends from the throne ; he sends no 
messengers now, but comes himself, and approaching the 
furnace, cries, " Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye 
servants of the most high God, come forth and come 
hither ; w but he can do no more ; he has no power to 
bring them forth ; his empire is vast, but these men are 
clean beyond his jurisdiction ; they might have answered, 
11 Come and bring us out ;" and neither he nor his bold- 
est warriors would have dared to invade those precincts. 

Witnesses who take no praise to themselves. A 
Christian never does arrogate any strength or merit ; he 
ascribes all his salvation, from first to last, to sovereign 
grace. These Hebrews feel their own weakness and 
utter helplessness, and give all the glory to the splendid 
visitant who has hastened to their rescue. I see them 
walking on each side of him amidst the fire, their eyes 
fixed upon that wonderful form which shines more 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 119 

brightly than the flames. They have forgotten all else ; 
they see not the crowd ; they hear neither the tuinult, 
nor the shrieks of their executioners, nor the swelling 
strains of music. Their gaze is rivetted upon him, 
" the fairest among ten thousand and altogether lovely." 
Their ears take in only those notes which breathe pea^e 
and rapture as they whisper, " It is I, be not afraid ;" 
" When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not 
be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee/' 

Lastly, witnesses whose testimony is at once and for- 
ever decisive. My brethren, it is not by words, not by 
preaching, nor forms, that we are to honor God and his 
truth ; it is by our fidelity, " that men may see our good 
works and glorify our Father who is in heaven/ ' The 
effect of this intrepid loyalty is instantaneous and irre- 
sistible. The idol which the king has set up is despised ; 
and not only are these young heroes crowned with fresh 
honors, but a decree is published throughout all the 
provinces, that their God shall be exalted and his name 
revered. 

IV. You have now, my friends, heard truths calcu- 
lated to save you, urged with all simplicity and affection ; 
let us ponder these truths and gather the fruit they 
ought to yield. 

And, first, let this narrative reinforce our faith and 
constancy. The secret of Christian strength is an open 
secret ; it is a gracious habit of trusting in God at all 
times. The earth is a plain of Dura crowded with fur- 
naces, into -some of which each of us must enter. But 
what then ? Shall we be afraid ? No, never. " Have 



120 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

faith in God ;" "Fear not, only believe ;" " All things 
are possible to him that believeth." 

" And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest 
thou unto me ? Speak unto the children of Israel, that 
they go forward." — What a command. " Go forward \" — 
but the pathless ocean drives us back with its fierce bil- 
lows. " Go forward I" — but does that God who hath 
brought us thus far mean to whelm us all, with our 
wives and little ones, in the yawning abysses ? " Go 
forward!" — Ah, it cannot be that he, our covenant 
Jehovah, has thus commanded ; we cannot go forward ; 
better that we remain and fell into the hands of Pharaoh, 
who will at least have compassion on our families. " Go 
forward \" — such is still the mandate. In their ex- 
tremity, they- venture tremblingly to obey ; and soon 
their serried ranks are marshalled safe on the other bank, 
and the morning air is shaking with peans of victory, as 
they look back, and see Pharaoh and his terrible army 
sinking like lead in the proud waters which swallow 
them up. 

Thus it was with these youthful champions. Eternal 
truth had promised that the " fire should not hurt them f 
and the fire has no power over their bodies. u The very 
hairs of your head are all numbered ;" and " not a hair 
of their head is singed, neither were their coats changed, 
nor the smell of fire had passed upon them." 

The Song of the Three Holy Children* is one of the 
Apocryphal Books. The man who wrote that beautiful 

* In old English, " Childe" means " young man." 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 121 

composition, if not inspired himself, had power to inspire 
others. Nothing can be more touching than the whole 
story, which I commend to you. I have endeavored to 
say something on* this noble theme ; but how poor and 
mean is all I have uttered, compared with these simple 
but exquisite verses. " And they walked in the midst 
of the fire, praising Grod and blessing the Lord. Then 
Azarias stood up and prayed in this manner ; and open- 
ing his mouth in the midst of the fire, said, Blessed art 
thou Lord God of our fathers ; thy name is worthy to 
be praised and glorified for evermore. For thou art 
righteous in all the things that thou hast done to us ; 
yea, true are all thy works, thy ways are right, and all 
thy judgments truth ; for we have sinned and committed 
iniquity, departing from thee. 

" In all things have we trespassed and not obeyed thy 
commandments, nor kept them, neither done as thou 
hast commanded us, that it might go well with us. 
Wherefore all that thou hast brought upon us, and 
everything that thou hast done to us, thou hast done 
in true judgment. But the angel of the Lord came 
down into the oven with Azarias and his fellows, and 
smote the flame of the fire out of the oven, and made 
the midst of the furnace as it bad been a moist ivhistling 
wind, so that the fire touched them not at all, neither 
hurt nor troubled them/ 9 

" Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished," we are 
told. He could not understand this, that heavenly con- 
solation, a divine presence, should be with these sons of 
affliction in the furnace. Neither he nor any of his 

6 



122 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

princes comprehended what this meant ; it was a mys- 
tery to them. But it is no mystery to some of you. 
There are those now before me who know well the 
meaning of this great truth, for they 'have felt its bless- 
edness. 

The mother who has knelt at the couch of her expir- 
ing infant and exclaimed, Oh, my child, my child, would 
God I had died for thee ; if I am bereaved of my chil- 
dren, I am bereaved, my heart must break — that mother, 
when she closes the pale eyes of her child, and finds un- 
utterable peace and consolation spring up in her stricken 
soul — that mother knows it well. The daughter on 
whose spirit breaks in, for the first time, all the bitter- 
ness of that word Orphan ; who, in the wailing language 
of the Psalmist, "is bowed down heavily as one who 
mourneth for a mother/' but feels the void in her heart 
filled by him who is the God of the orphan — that 
daughter knows it well. And sterner hearts have known, 
and now know well, what it is to have One with them 
in the fiery ordeal. 

In the tornado which lately scourged the whole com- 
mercial world, some of you saw all your fortunes swept 
away in an hour. And beneath the storm which thus 
heaped desolation upon your hearts and your hearths, 
how did your strength fail, and your spirits sink in 
gloom and wretchedness. But you now know that all 
this was good for you ; good thus to have wrenched 
away these earthly riches which had engrossed your 
affections, that there might be restored to you those 
treasures of faith and joy — those heavenly riches, which 



THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 123 

you had lost. Ton now adore the wisdom and faith- 
fulness of Him who was in the tempest and earthquake 
and fire, to rebuke ajid chasten and humble you, and 
who is now in the still small voice, breathing ineffable 
love and peace into your souls. 

In short, it is by sorrow that those who are Christ's 
must be purified, even as he was made perfect by suffer- 
ing ; and his people have ever experienced the fulfilment 
of his promises, " My peace I give unto you/' " I will 
not leave you comfortless/' " Now ye have sorrow, but I 
will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your 
joy no man taketh from you." 

My brethren, how amiable is the religion of Jesus 
Christ. To the faithful soul it is really true, that " all 
the way to heaven is heaven." Even when all is bright, 
how necessary is this religion for man. But when the 
heart is bruised and wounded with affliction, what would 
become of us without those precious promises, those 
unspeakable consolations, which can cheer the darkest 
gloom, and light up a smile of triumph even on the as- 
pect of decay and death. 

There are too many in this house, I fear greatly, who 
know nothing of cross-bearing or suffering for Jesus ; 
and what shall I say to them ? My friends, I do not 
. ask whether you encounter trials and submit to self- 
denials ; these are inevitable ; the world has a hundred 
martyrs where Jesus has one ; and the bondage imposed 
by the passions is intolerable because forced upon us., 
while the yoke of Christ is made easy by the love which 
chooses it. 



124 THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 

But are you bearing crosses and making sacrifices for 
Jesus and his cause ? If not, you are- preferring some 
idol to him, and what must the e$d be ? You will soon 
have to enter the furnace, and who will deliver you ? 
Affliction is a furnace ; but you will have no comforter 
with you there. Death is a furnace ; but you will have 
no one to support you in that solemn hour. And the 
judgment will be a furnace ; and there is " a lake that 
burnetii with fire and brimstone f 9 and what guardian 
will rescue your soul ? " How shall you escape, if you 
neglect so great salvation ?" 

Why, oh, why should such a doom be yours ? How 
much wiser the choice of these Hebrews ; how much bet- 
ter the decision of Moses, " choosing rather to suffer af- 
.friction with the people of God, than to enjoy the plea- 
sures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ 
greater riches than the treasures of Egypt." You ad- 
mire these sainted heroes, make them then your models. 
Have faith in that God who says, " Them that honor me, 
I will honor," and be " followers of them who through 
faith and patience inherit the promises." 

I suffer, I endure for Jesus ; but what a privilege to 
bear anything for such an adorable Kecleemer ; "I take 
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in 
persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake." I suffer, I 
endure for Jesus ; 0, what honor to be identified with 
such a cause, to immolate anything for truth, for the 
salvation of a ruined world. Lastly, I suffer, I endure 
for Jesus ; but it is the way to the crown ; u through 
much tribulation we must enter the kingdom ;" there 






THE THREE HEBREWS IN THE FURNACE. 125 

is no other avenue, and the footsteps of my Lord lead 
through this. " Ought not Christ to have suffered these 
things, and to enter into his glory P" It was as a suffer- 
ing Saviour that he passed to his coronation, and I must 
follow in the path he trod. Unto me "it is given, in the 
behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to 
suffer for his sake/' 

Welcome, then, the Cross ! Let the furnace be heated 
seven times ! I glory in a cross by which I suffer with 
him, that I may be glorified with him. I triumph amidst 
the fires through which I shall win up to glory and honor 
and immortality beyond the skies. 

" Through night to light. And though, to mortal eyes, 
Creation's face a pall of sadness wear, 
Good cheer, good cheer, the gloom of midnight flies, 
Then shall a morning follow, bright and clear. 

" Through cross to crown. And though thy spirit's life 
Trials untold assail with giant strength, 
Good cheer, good cheer, soon ends the bitter strife, 
And thou shalt reign with Christ in heaven at length." 



SERMON V. 

THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

"And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. G-odwas 
manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit; seen of angels, preached unto 
the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.'' — 1 Timo- 
thy, iii. 16. 

11 God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself not imputing 
their trespasses unto them." — 2 Corinthians, v. 19. 

Last Sabbath I submitted to you an argument based 
upon the admissions which even infidels are compelled to 
make. And, assuming only those concessions ; I at- 
tempted to show that Jesus Christ must have been more 
than man. I wish now to present the truth in a 
somewhat different light ; carrying the argument much 
farther. 

In dwelling upon this subject let no one misunder- 
stand me. Far be ilfrom me to suppose that your 
minds need to be confirmed in this cardinal article of 
the gospel. My brethren, this is the Christian Sabbath ; 
the day which, from the morning of the Saviour's resur- 
rection to the present hour, all Christians have hallowed 
as "the Sabbath of the Lord our God/' This is a 
Christian temple, in which we are gathered to worship 



THE DEITY OF, CHRIST. 127 

Jesus, to mingle our homage with that of the multitude 
who burn around the throne of God, filling the golden 
atmosphere with ascriptions " unto him who loved them 
and washed them in his own blood/' And now perish 
the thought, that here, on this day and in this place, it 
should be necessary to prove to you that your faith is 
not sacrilege and your worship profanity. 

The proper deity of Jesus Christ is, however, a sub- 
ject which ought to engage our hearts and minds oftener 
than it does. Just reflect upon the importance of this 
great truth. It te the keystone in the arch of Chris ti- ■ 
anity ; on it as their substructure depend all our hopes ; 
from it are derived all the glory of the gospel, and the 
magnificence of the atonement. I, therefore, make this 
fundamental doctrine the topic for our meditations to- 
day. The application of the subject will require nothing 
from me ; your 'own hearts will instinctively turn, in ad- 
miration and gratitude, to the design of this amazing 
phenomenon. Jesus ! thou who in heaven art King 
of kings and Lord of lords, establish thy throne in the 
bosoms of this whole assembly, and reign there sover- 
eign of every thought, undisputed monarch of eveiy pas- 
sion and affection. 

I. First, then, the divinity of Jesus Christ. " With- 
out controversy great is the mysteiy of godliness ; God 
was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit/' (his 
deity asserted, and " he declared to be the Son of God 
with power, according to the spirit of holiness by the 
resurrection from the dead/') " seen of angels, preached 
unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up 



128 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

into glory :" " God was in Christ, reconciling the world 
unto himself;" k * the first man was of the earth earthy, 
the second man is the Lord from heaven ;" " in the be- 
ginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
and the Word was God ;" " by him were all things 
created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible 
and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or 
principalities, or powers ; all things were created by him, 
and for him ; and he is before all things, and by him all 
things consist;" "and the Word was made flesh and 
'dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of 
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." 

I joause before these texts. I do not multiply quo- 
tations ;*for I affirm that the man who can wrest these 
passages, will wrest the other Scriptures also, and is most 
deplorably and incurably prejudiced. I may love him 
for the graces of his character, and honor him for learn- 
ing and genius ; but it was to just such men Paul de- 
clared he found that Christ crucified was foolishness ; it 
was of just such men — Grecians, Corinthians, amiable, 
accomplished — that he said, " The God of this world 
hath blinded the minds of them that believe not, lest the 
light of the glorious gospel of Christ, which is the image 
of God, should shine unto them." 

I am not ignorant, my brethren, of the flippant cavils 
with which the plainest " testimony of God" on this 
subject is sometimes assailed. I know there is a phi- 
losophy (but its name is folly) which forgetting that the 
Bible is not a record of human feelings and thoughts, but 
a divine revelation — affects to be offended at the myste- 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 129 

ries of this doctrine. Mystery ! but is mystery any argu- 
ment against a fact revealed by God ? Mystery ! why 
the Bible tells us that this great fact is the profoundest 
of mysteries. " Without controversy great is the mys- 
tery of godliness, God was manifest in the flesh." How, 
indeed, can it be otherwise ? A distinguished philoso- 
pher refused to read the Scriptures, because, if they were 
truly a revelation from God, they must be above his 
comprehension. Absurd as was this pretext, is that 
before us less foolish ? Man, man who cannot under- 
stand his own mind or body ; who as to the most com- 
mon things- mistakes familiarity for knowledge ; who in 
his every day necessary actions, in eating and drinking, 
must proceed upon facts wholly inscrutable to him ; with 
whom the clearest light serves only to show the sur- 
rounding darkness — can such a being expect " by search- 
ing to find out God ?" to fathom the abysses of light in 
which God dwells unapproachably ? To attempt to 
explain the incarnation of. Deity would be palpable folly 
and presumption ; in the fact itself, however, as revealed 
to us, there is not only a majesty which to a devout 
mind carries conviction and silences all impotent and 
impious sophistry, but a consolation and sweetness 
w r hich meet one of the most mysterious, essential, and 
universal wants of our nature. 

While, however, a communication from God to us 
concerning himself, his essence and existence, must con- 
tain things altogether above our intellects, it is all im- 
portant that Ave know what are the things thus revealed. 
To these facts let us now come humbly and reverently. 

6* 



130 TIIE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

Be it remembered, then, that "God is a spirit." 
Strictly speaking, we do not know what matter is. We 
call it substance, body ; but we only deceive ourselves 
by a change of words. As to spirit we all confess our 
perfect ignorance. We can, therefore, know absolutely 
nothing of God's existence, except as he reveals it to us. 
Bear this in mind, and now, receiving this volume as a 
divine communication — reading it candidly and with no 
determination not to believe what transcends our under- 
standing — I ask what is here revealed as to the Deity, 
and the incarnation of Deity in the man Christ Jesus ? 

Argue, refine, object, cavil, and clamor, as men 
may, I find in the sacred books, first, this great truth, 
" Hear Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord." As to 
the unity of God all are agreed. But I find in this vol- 
ume another truth revealed with equal clearness. I find 
that this God exists tripersonally. Of course, as I have 
said, this sublimest of all mysteries baffles my intellect. 
It is, however, not only clearly revealed, but it is the 
truth which is to be impressed upon the Christian, to 
be incorporated into his spiritual life, in the ordinance 
of baptism. And it is the truth which is to be repeated 
whenever the Apostolic benediction is pronounced. We 
are to baptize "into the name" (the one name) "of the 
Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ;" and the form 
of blessing prescribed by inspiration is, " The grace of 
the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the com- 
munion of the Holy Ghost be with you all." 

Let us go on. One person in this glorious Trinity, 
I am distinctly informed in these pages, is called " the 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 131 

Son," "the Word." And this " Son," "this Word" 
did unite himself to humanity ; so that Jesus Christ 
was both divine and human — the object of this mystical 
union being the redemption of man. " The Word was 
made flesh and dwelt among us ;" " forasmuch as the 
children were partakers of flesh and blood, he also took 
part of the same;" "let this mind be in you which 
was also in Christ Jesus, who being the form of God, 
thought it no robbery to be equal with God," (and if he 
thought it no robbery it was none, it was his rightful 
prerogative,) "but made himself of no reputation, and 
took upon him the form of a servant," (a servant of 
God, for in no other sense was he a servant, and this 
is mentioned as an amazing act of condescension,) "and 
was made in the likeness of men." (Of course he was 
not a mere man. Simile non est idem, that which is 
like a thing is not the thing itself.) " And being found 
in fashion as a man," (the word rendered "fashion" is, 
in the original, the same which before is translated 
" form ;" if, then, his being in the form of a man means 
he was truly man, his being in the form of God means 
that he was truly God,) " he humbled himself and be- 
came obedient unto death," (not only did he stoop to 
take the form of humanity, but he subjected himself to 
death ; all men must die, but with him it was a volun- 
tary humiliation,) "even the death of the cross." No 
man could take his .life from him. " He had power to 
lay it down, and to take it up ;" and he chose that death 
which was the most painful and ignominious. 

These are facts clearly revealed. They are things 



ISA THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

which "qye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have 
entered into the heart of man, but God hath revealed 
them unto us by his Spirit/' And why should we 
stagger at these mysteries through unbelief? There is 
nothing to shake reason here. When God himself im- 
parts to me information as to his nature and essence, 
my reason is prepared to believe all and question noth- 
ing. Nor is there any contradiction. We do not say 
that divinity and humanity were confounded in Jesus 
Christ ; but that in some such way as the soul and body 
are united in man, so the two natures, while distinct, 
were combined in him — the human essence suffering, 
and the divine essence investing these sufferings with 
infinite dignity and efficacy. 

These are the revealed facts. And now these facts 
thus established, I say a child can refute the arguments 
of Socinians, who pretend that the Scriptures assert, 
and that Jesus himself proclaims, the infinite superi- 
ority of the Father. Take, for example, their great 
proof text. When we produce the inspired record, that 
in the Kedeemer "it was no robbery to be equal with 
God ;" when we show him so distinctly and unequivo- 
cally claiming this equality, that the people stoned him 
"for blasphemy because he being a man made himself 
God ;" when we prove that he was crucified for persist- 
ing in this claim ; his judges crying out, " Why need 
we further witnesses ? Ye have heard his blasphemy" 
— what do our opponents reply ? They point exultingly 
to these words, " My Father is greater than I." But, 
now, I affirm that this declaration is in perfect harmony 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 133 

with our view, and recoils fatally against theirs. Sup- 
posing Jesus to be both divine and human— " The Won- 
derful 7 ' — " Emanuel, God with us" — such expressions are 
exactly what we would anticipate. I confess my faith 
in this wonderful combination would be shaken, did I 
not discover in Jesus the actions both of a man and a 
God. But I do see these. I see these when he weeps at 
the grave of Lazarus, and then, by an omnipotent word, 
raises him from the dead. I see these when he sleeps in 
the stern of the ship, and then commands the winds and 
the sea, and they obey him. I see these when he bleeds 
and expires, and then bursts the bands of death, and 
comes forth radiant in .glory. And if in his conduct I 
would expect this commingling of deity and humanity, 
so in his conversation I would be disappointed, did I not 
have language recognizing each of these natures. I would 
be sure that, as God, he would assert his divinity ; and 
that, as man, he would refer to his mysterious humilia- 
tion in what the Apostle calls " the days of his flesh." 

But take the system of our adversaries and suppose 
Jesus to have been only a man. This is really the only 
alternative. That he wasmore than a man, and yet not 
God in man — that he was a divine humanity, or a created 
being superior to angels — all this is pure fiction ; it finds 
no sort of countenance in the Scriptures, and, while it is 
surrounded by all the difficulties of our sublime faith, 
has none of its consolations. Those who receive the Bible 
.must make their choice ; they must either receive the 
gospel which teaches that God was in Christ ; or " an- 
other gospel," which, divested of specious ambiguities 



134 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

and obscurities thrown about it to conceal or mitigate so 
revolting a creed, makes Jesus only a man. Well, take 
this hypothesis, and what follows ? Why, not only are 
hundreds of passages in the Bible without any sort of 
meaning, but the text above cited is profanity and ab- 
surdity. What, a man gravely informing us that God is 
greater than he. A mere man, and he a wise, and meek, 
and good man, comparing himself with God, and saying 
that God is greater than he ! Is there any comparison 
or proportion between God and a man ? " Who in the 
heavens can be compared to the Lord ? Who among 
the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord ?" 

There is a peculiar emphasis sometimes in passages 
which speak of Jesus as truly man, as the Son of Man ; 
and it is argued from this that he was only a man. But 
who does not see that these texts go far to refute such an 
inference ? Does the Holy Spirit ever deem it necessary 
to assure us that John or Paul was a man ? Saving 
faith requires a Kedeemer who is both God and man ; 
hence the necessity of insisting upon his humanity as well 
as his divinity. So entirely does this great mystery of 
godliness transcend all finite thought, that "no man can 
say that Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Ghost ;" and his 
being " believed on in the world," is among the marvels 
enumerated by the Apostle. While Jesus was on earth 
it was necessary to assert his deity ; but directly after 
his glorious ascension, the danger was from the opposite 
quarter. In fact, one of the earliest heresies was a de-^ 
nial of Christ's humanity ; to combat which error, John, 
the last of the Apostles, demands so earnestly a confes- 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 135 

sion of faith in the real incarnation. " Hereby know 
ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesseth that 
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God ; and every 
spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the 
flesh is not of God." 

II. Let this suffice for the cavils sometimes heard 
against the doctrine before us ; mouldy sophistries, exposed 
centuries ago, but still paraded as original and unanswer- 
able. From these preliminary remarks, I pass, now, to 
our main design, and submit to you some thoughts which 
seem to me conclusive in establishing the divinity of Jesus. 

In constructing an argument on this subject I do not 
think it necessary to amass passages from the word of 
God ; these have often been collected in volumes, so nu- 
merous are they ; and these able works are in your hands. 
Nor will I weary you by quoting the testimony of the 
most ancient records, and proving that from the earliest 
periods this truth has been the foundation of faith and 
hope to the' church of Christ. We have already noticed 
one fact in itself conclusive. We have shown that Jesus 
was crucified because he proclaimed himself " the Son of 
the living God." The Sanhedrim understood this to be 
an assertion of divinity, and condemned him to die for 
" blasphemy." The first disciples must, therefore, have 
honored the Saviour as a divine being, unless they re- 
garded him either as insane, or as an impious impostor. 
The very language used by Paul as to the people he per- 
secuted, shows that Jesus was worshipped by them as 
God. To call upon God is, in the language of inspira- 
tion, to worship him ; and Paul describes Christians as 



136 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

those "who call upon that name/' When his cruelty 
forced any of them to speak against Jesus, he says he 
" compelled them to blaspheme/' that is, to speak against 
God. He calls himself a " blasphemer" as well as a 
persecutor, for having assailed the honor of Jesus. And 
Luke applies the same term to those who abused the 
Saviom*. " Many other things blasphemously spake they 
against him."* Shortly after this, in the year one hun- 
dred and seven, Pliny wrote his celebrated letter to Tra- 
jan, in which he says that the Christians worshipped 
" Christ as a God." And so in succeeding ages, Jews 
and Gentiles accused the disciples of blasphemy and ren- 
dering divine homage to a man ; and for this they suf- 
fered martyrdom, glorying in the accusation. 

From these sources it would be easy to accumulate a 
mass of evidence sufficient to satisfy any candid mind ; 
but the limits of a discourse forbid my entering into any 
such details. And, moreover, I prefer to adopt a course 
of reasoning more direct and summary ; in which, taking 
our opponents on their own grounds, hearing their own 
faith, you will see that in order to refute their heresy, it 
is only necessary to follow it out to its proper, legitimate 
and inevitable conclusions. 

Let us enter into the matter. We are combating, be 
it remembered, Socinians, not infidels ; those who con- 
demn the folly and impiety of the sceptic, and receive 
the Bible as an inestimable blessing to our race. But 
now I affirm — this is my first proposition — that if Jesus 

* Luke, xxii 65. 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 137 

Christ was only a man, if lie be not divine, why then, 
not only is the Bible no blessing, but it is the direst 
curse which has afflicted the earth since the fall. 

Observe, my brethren, how the case stands. You 
know the language of God as to idolatry ; no terms can 
be more intense than those he employs to denouuce this 
sin ; it is constantly reprobated as the most atrocious 
and comprehensive crime ; it is the degradation of the 
mind, the hostility of the heart, the object of Jehovah's 
supreme abhorrence and unmitigated vengeance. But 
if Jesus Christ be not divine, what has been the influ- 
ence of the Bible ? wha't in this city, in this country, in 
a great part of the world ? It has covered the earth 
with the most subtle and incurable idolatry. To insure 
this result, the Old Testament and the New Testament, 
patriarch, prophet and apostle, have all conspired. And 
this terrible mischief cannot be ascribed to any perver- 
sion of the Scriptures ; it has been the direct necessary 
consequence of their plain teaching. 

For consider, in the first place, what is the design of 
religion. The very meaning of that word is a binding 
us bach to God. Humanity has separated itself fr#m 
God, and the very object of religion is to reinstate us in 
communion with Him ; to reclaim us from trusting in 
creatures, and elevate our faith to its only proper object. 
" Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth 
in man, and mafeeth flesh his arm, and whose heart cle- 
parteth from the Lord/' Jehovah has revealed himself, 
as the only being on whom we are to depend at all times, 
and for all things. But the Old Testament constantly 



13S THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

proposes Jesus as the proper object of universal trust. 
" A just God and a Saviour, there is none besides me ;" 
k * look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the 
earth ;" " in Him shalbthe Gentiles trust ;" " the isles 
shall wait upon me, and on my arm shall they trust ;" 
" a man shall be as a hiding-place from the wind, and 
a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry 
place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land/' 
And in the New Testament, Jesus is not only the 
" author and finisher of faith/' but confidence in Him is 
the abridgement of all piety ; pardon, justification, sanc- 
tification, all salvation being suspended upon that faith. 

In the next place, observe the relations which Jesus 
sustains to our race in every page of the Bible. There is 
not a relation proper to the Deity which is not ascribed 
to Him. " Creating all things/' " upholding all things/' 
"sustaining all things/' "the end of all things," "all 
things in heaven and earth by him and for him." The 
relation of Saviour is claimed by Jehovah as exclusively 
his own. " Look unto me and be saved, for I am God, 
and there is none else." But the very name given to Je- 
sus' by the angel is Saviour. " Thou shalt call his name 
Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." 

In short, the titles given to Jesus — reflect upon 
these. " The Word was God." " Who is over all, God 
blessed forever." " The only wise God, our Saviour, 
Jesus Christ." " Immanuel, God with us." " My Lord 
and my God." " Unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, 
God, is forever and ever." But I will not multiply 
quotations ; let us take a single instance in which su- 



\ 






THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 139 

preme deity is ascribed to Jesus so directly, that it 
would seem to settle the question at once and forever. 
Referring to Christ, the Evangelist uses this language, 
u These things said Isaiah, when he saw his glory and 
spake of him." Here is an allusion to a vision in which 
the prophet beheld the glory of Jesus. The words cited 
determine what vision this was. They are found in the 
sixth chapter of Isaiah, which commences with that sub- 
lime announcement, " In the year that King Uzziel 
died, I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high 
and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." The 
sacred volume contains no more magnificent view of 
the glory of Jehovah than that described in this chap- 
ter ; and we are expressly informed by inspired author- 
ity that this was a vision of Jesus. 

Now unite all these truths, and I ask, is this a man ? 
is this not a divine being ? If he be not divine, not 
only is it a terrible fact that, wherever Christianity has 
reached, it has spread over the earth a fatal superstition ; 
but it is equally incontestable that the Bible has been 
the cause of this universal idolatry. The Scriptures 
were designed for the instruction of the masses ; their 
plain meaning is their true meaning ; and it is the ob- 
vious and true teachings of the Scriptures which have, 
in all ages and everywhere, established a religion which 
is a blasphemous heresy. 

Nor must any false charity soften this issue. " It is 
of little consequence," says an eminent writer, " what 
place in the scale of being we assign to Christ." But 
has Jesus no appropriate place in the great work of re- 



140 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. . 

demption ? Shall I be told that it is of no importance 
where the keystone is placed, provided the arch be im- 
movable ? or that, in the solar system, the position of 
the sun is of no consequence, provided the planets all 
revolve in their orbits ? No, my dear hearers, we must 
not evade the solemn alternative. We honor and , love 
many who deny the Saviour's divinity ; but it is self- 
evident that, if their creed be true, we, and the multi- 
tudes who worship Jesus, are idolaters and must be lost. 
If, on the other hand, the faith clearly taught in the 
Bible be the truth, then they discrown and dishonor the 
Lord of glory, and reject the only salvation revealed to 
our lost race. This is the fearful dilemma, and upon 
this issue we must go to the judgment, and abide the 
retributions of eternity. 

Let us now pass to a second proposition, let us ex- 
amine a second and still more revolting conclusion which 
must flow from a denial of .the Saviour's divinity. So- 
cinians, while refusing to Jesus their supreme homage, 
yet express unutterable admiration for him, as the pur- 
est, wisest, best of men — as a perfect man. But, now, 
(0 Saviour ! forgive me, if, in order to expose the im- 
piety which seeks to tarnish thy glo^p, I stain my lips 
with language which my soul abhors), if Jesus was only 
a mortal, he not only was not the purest and best, but 
he was the worst of men — he was the most presump^ 
tuous of impostors — he was a systematic blasphemer ; 
and — as God has made blasphemy a capital crime — the' 
Jews were right to condemn and crucify him. 

That you may feel the force of this proposition, ex- 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 141 

amine, first, his .declarations as to himself, his rank and 
dignity. Great was John the Baptist — inspiration 
attests this ; and far greater still was Paul ; but they 
seek to disparage themselves. They are " a voice crying 
in the wilderness/' "less than the least ;" and they glory 
only in their relation to Christ. But Jesus asserts the 
highest glory for himself. He who is admitted by all to 
be the "meek and lowly" One, takes a position infinitely 
above humanity, claiming not only a divine office, but a 
divine nature. " I came forth from the Father, and am 
come into the world ; again I leave the world and go to 
the Father." If we ask what was his relation to this 
Father, he replies, " I and my Father are one." If we 
inquire whether this identity refers to a participation in 
the glorious nature of the Father before he was made 
flesh and dwelt among us, the answer is, " And now, 
Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the 
glory which I had with thee before the world was." Is 
his nature, then, like that of the Father, infinitely above 
all our conceptions, and comprehensible only by the eter- 
nal mind ? He declares that it is. " No man knoweth 
the Son but the Father." 

Having pondered these assertions as to his nature, 
hear now what he claims as to his personal right. The 
first great command, you know, is supreme love to God. 
* " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is 
the first and great commandment." And Moses again 
and again admonishes Israel that Jehovah is most jeal- 
ous as to this command. " Hear, Israel, the Lord our 



142 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with 
all thy might." But Jesus requires us to love him with 
all the heart. There is no feature in the gospel more 
conspicuous than this demand of supreme love to him. 
He makes this affection the foundation of all obedience 
which is acceptable to God. " If ye love me, keep my 
commandments ;" this is the religion which Jesus 
teaches, in its true ]3rinciple and its practice. God says, 
" My son, give me thine heart" — this is the epitome of 
all duty ; but Jesus demands the heart — the heart of 
every human being — and the heart so unreservedly, that 
the most sacred earthly ties become fatally criminal, if 
they interfere with this supreme affection. Not only 
must father and mother and wife and child be forsaken, 
but except a man "hate his father and mother and wife 
and children and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own 
life also, he cannot be my disciple." 

Such are his claims, and he enforces these claims by 
promises and threatenings which, of course, suppose that 
he is God over all, doing according to his will in heaven 
and earth. The Scriptures constantly declare that wis- 
dom is the gift of God alone, " God giveth wisdom to 
the wise." " In the heart of all that are wise-hearted, I 
have put wisdom, saith the Lord." But Jesus says, " I 
will give you a mouth and wisdom." "Who can forgive 
6ins but God ? Jesus promises not only the pardon of 
sin, but the Holy Spirit to purify our natures, all spir- 
itual blessings here, and eternal life and glory hereafter. 
"I will raise him up at the last day." " The dead shall 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 143 

hear the voice of the Son of Man, and they that hear 
shall live/' " As the Father raiseth the dead and quick- 
eneth them, so the Son quickeneth whom he will." " All 
that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come 
forth." " The Son of Man shall come in his glory, and 
all the holy angels with him, and he will say to them on 
his right hand, Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
the world/' " I ajDpoint unto you a kingdom./' Is this 
a man like myself ? What sort of man is this, who thus 
arrogates the right to confer, at his pleasure, the Holy 
Spirit and all the glory of earth and heaven ? 

Nor are his threatenings less an assumption of the 
divine prerogative. " They shall see the Son of Man 
coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great 
glory/' " Then shall he reward every one according to* 
his works." " He will send forth his angels, and they 
shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, 
and them which do iniquity." Then shall he say unto 
them on the left hand, Depart from me, accursed, into 
everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." 
And his mandate shall consign the wicked to " everlast- 
ing punishment." 

* Lastly, his direct appropriation of divinity. " He 
and the Father are one." " Whatsoever the Father 
doeth, the Son doeth also." "He that hath the Son, 
hath the Father." "All power in heaven and earth is 
his." " All men shall honor the Son, even as they honor 
the Father." " The Holy Spirit's work shall be to glo- 
rify him." G-od hallowed the seventh day, and com- 



144 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

mantled that it should be kept sacred as the Sabbath of 
the Lord God. So inviolable was this command, that 
when a man was found gathering a few sticks for fuel 
on the Sabbath, God ordered that he should be put to 
death. But Jesus predominates over this institution, 
he declares that he is " Lord of the Sabbath." His dis- 
omies had violated that day. but he claims the right to 
dispense with the Sabbath, to abrogate a divine'law. 
Collect, now, all these facts. After this what shall 
► we say, if Jesus be not divine ? if he was only a man ? 
And when you recollect, that in baptism he commanded 
his name to be joined with the Father's as one name ; 
that he required his disciples to pray to him ; that he 
assured them of his omnipresence wherever two or three 
should be gathered together in his name : that he heard 
"^Thomas worship him. as his Lord and his God, and ac- 
cepted these titles — I say when we add all this, there is 
but a single alternative. What ! the Apostles at Lys- 
tra rent their clothes in horror, when the people would 
honor them as gods ; the angel in the Apocalypse, when 
John fell at his feet to worship, exclaimed, ''See thou 
do it not, I am thy fellow-servant ;" and Jesus, a mere 
mortal, claiming the authority of God, receiving the 
titles of God, and commanding that all shall honor him 
as God — oh, ye who divest the Redeemer of the glory 
which he claims, and degrade him to humanity, why 
not, then, adopt the conclusion to which your impiety 
must -force you ? whj* not openly avow the conviction 
which you cannot escape ? If Jesus was only a man, 
he was not only an impostor, but a blasphemer. Why 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 145 

not, therefore, take at once your proper places among 
his judges, and rend your garments, and say, "We have 
heard his blasphemy ;" and pronounce against him the 
sentence which God has annexed to that crime. 

Our third proposition conducts us a step farther in 
this demonstration. It is this. Socinians cannot wor- 
ship Jesus, because God is a jealous God " who w 7 ill not 
suffer his glory to be given to another '/' and as to God's 
jealousy upon this point, we fully agree with them. 
But if Jesus be only a man, if he be not divine, then 
I say, that, in all his conduct to this world, God has 
busied himself to secure supreme homage for another, 
and to confirm the earth in rendering to a creature the 
worship due to himself alone. 

Bear in mind, what has already been premised, that 
we are combatting not infidelity but Socinianism. If 
Socinians are called infidels, they murmur and charge us 
with gross injustice, since they build churches for Christ, 
and receive the Christian Bible as an inspired revelation. 
The Bible an inspired revelation. Very well. But now T 
open this Bible, and see what God has done there — that 
God who commanded the brazen serpent to be broken 
in pieces, because there was danger lest it should become 
an object of idolatrous reverence in the eyes of the people. 

Observe, first of all, the prophecies, the illustrious 
proclamations issued from heaven to prepare the world 
for its great Deliverer. These prophecies commenced at 
the Fall ; God then comforting our first parents wdth 
the assurance that " the seed of the woman" — (a being 
made flesh but not in the ordinary way of generation) — 

1 



146 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

" should "bruise the serpent's head." In each succeeding 
age these predictions were renewed with fresh lustre^ 
all distinctly announcing the amazing truth, that the 
Saviour who should thus he "made of a woman" 
was "God," "'Mighty God/' "Jehovah," "Everlasting 
Father/' "Emmanuel, God with us." And "when the 
fulness of the time was come," John, the immediate 
harbinger of the Redeemer, openly published, that his 
mission was to prepare the earth for the appearance of 
Jehovah. In introducing John's ministry, the inspired 
Evangelist says, " This is he that was spoken of by the 
prophet Isaiah, saying, The voice of one crying in the 
wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his 
paths straight." This refers to the fortieth chapter of 
Isaiah ; and "the Lord," for whose august approach the 
earth was to be made ready, is there styled Jehovah. 
" The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare 
ye the way of the Lord (original, Jehovah), make straight 
in the desert a highway for our God." Beflect on this 
long and splendid train of prophecies, the meaning of 
which cannot be mistaken. . 

Examine, next, the types which prefigured the Sa- 
viour ; priests, altars, sacrifices, all the imposing service 
of the temple, all the gorgeous institutions of the Law. 
For centuries these were appointed by God, to herald 
from afar Him whose blood should make atonement for 
sin. Beflect upon these speaking types and emblems, 
and their inevitable influence to make the great Anti- 
type the object of religious worship. 

From these oracles pointing through a long vista to 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 147 

the manifestation of God in the flesh, come, now, to the 
phenomena which immediately preceded or accompanied 
his appearance ; the expectation of a divine and glorious 
Deliverer, so universal, that Jesus is styled " the Desire 
of all nations ;" the miraculous conception, the simple 
account of which no one can read, without feeling that 
there then mysteriously entered humanity a Being who 
was not human— that there was a miraculous incorpora- 
tion of divinity into our nature ; the salutation of Mary 
by the angel, declaring that the holy being who should 
be born of her should be an incarnation by the direct 
" overshadowing of the power of the Highest/' and should 
" be called the Son of God" — that is, should have a di- 
vine nature, just as he would have inherited a merely 
human nature had he been the son of Joseph ; the in- 
spired interpretation of this wonderful birth, " Now all 
this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken 
of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold a virgin shall 
conceive and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call 
his name Emmanuel, God with us *" in fine, " the mul- 
titude of the heavenly host" — myriads of cherubim and 
seraphim — who pour their radiant files down to earth, 
and cause " the glory of the Lord to shine around," 
while celestial harmonies are shed from those morning 
stars sieging together, and celestial hosannahs peal out 
from those sons of God shouting for joy. Keflect upon 
these phenomena. 

This Being;, for whose wonderful advent the world 
must thus be prepared, for whose glorious epiphany the 
earth is only a platform — this Being appears among 



14S THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

men. " The Word is made flesh and dwells among us, 
I we behold his glory, the glory as of the only begot- 
ten of the Father full of grace and truth/' " He is in 
the world, and the world was made by him, and the 
world knows him not." And, now, mark the miracles 
which he performs. Others had wrought miracles before, 
but how ? by a power confessedly delegated. He wields 
a power to which no one ever before pretended, and 
which, it would be profanity for any one but God to claim. 
He works miracles by his own power. Nor is this all. 
He bestows this power upon his disciples, who, in his 
name, appealing to him and no other God, j>erform the 
most brilliant miracles. Reflect upon these miracles. 

After this, consider- the prodigies of his life. As if 
the Father's boundless love and complacency could be no 
longer silent, the voice from heaven twice proclaims, 
" This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, 
hear ye him ; w and amidst the blaze of Tabor he is robed 
in the very brightness of the Shekinah, and glorified 
spirits do him homage. Behold the prodigies at his 
death ; the convulsions of nature, the darkness of the 
sun, the opening of the graves, and the resurrection of 
the dead. Observe his own resurrection ; study this dis- 
play of a power incontestably divine, which, privately to 
his disciples, and openly to his enemies, he declared he 
would put forth while his human form lay in the grave. 
After his resurrection, see how he shows himself as a su- 
pernatural, omnipresent, omniscient Saviour to his dis- 
ciples ; and then ascends amidst a cloud of adoring an- 
- to heaven. 



THE DEITY OF CHKIST. 149 

Lastly, the gift of the Holy Spirit — reflect upon this. 
He promised that, on returning to his native heaven, he 
would send the Holy Spirit ; arid this promise is abun- 
dantly fulfilled. That glorious agent attests his pres- 
ence, on the day of Pentecost, by signs and wonders 
which God alone could work. And, as Jesus had prom- 
ised that the Spirit should abide with his disciples, so it 
did abide with them ; causing them in all things to 
"glorify him ;" inspiring them, if they preached, to 
preach God in Christ ; if they worshipped, to worship 
God in Christ ; if they performed miracles, to perform 
them in the name of God in Christ. 

Collect, now, all these facts. Is there a mind which 
does not feel the force of our present proposition ? Can 
any one fail to see that, if Jesus Christ be not divine, 
then, in every part of the revelation he has given to 
mankind, God has been solely intent upon communicat- 
ing to a creature the worship due only to the Creator ? 
And when you add that, • from our very constitution, 
religion is gratitude and love ; and that, in the Bible, 
salvation, and all the eternal blessings of salvation, are 
ascribed wholly to Jesus — I say, when we combine all 
these truths, our third proposition becomes an axiom ; 
not only can it not be answered, but it cannot be dis- 
puted. 

A single proposition more, which I only indicate in 
so many words, will finish this demonstration. This 
last proposition is, that if we deny the divinity of Jesus 
Christ, we deny that the Scriptures contain evidence of 
the existence of any God at all. Is God known by his 



150 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

works ? Mention any work peculiar to the deity, and I 
will show you that the Bible ascribes that work to 
Jesus. Is God known by his titles, perfections, and of- 
fices ? Name any one of these — not excepting the om- 
niscient prerogative of judging the secrets of all hearts 
at the last day — and I will refer you to passages where 
it is attributed to Jesus. Lastly, is God distinguished 
from all beings as the only object of supreme homage ? 
The entire New Testament renders this homage to Je- 
sus. The eastern Magi are commended, because "when 
they saw the young child with Mary his mother, they 
fell down and worshiped him." During his abode on 
earth he constantly receives this homage ; the leper, the 
ruler of the synagogue, the woman of Canaan, the disci- 
ples in the ship — all " worshipped him." And after his 
death, the Apostles "worshipped him." Nor have we 
only this general account of divine honors paid to Jesus. 
Look where you will in the gospels, the epistles, the Kev- 
elation of John, and you find him the object of every act 
of religious worship. So distinctly did the Apostles as- 
sert the divinity of Christ in their sermons, that the 
Athenian philosophers designated Paul as the "setter 
forth of strange gods, because he preached Jesus and the 
resurrection." In the supper the warmest adorations of 
the disciples were concentrated upon Jesus. In baptism, 
and in the inspired benediction, he is united with the 
Father as having- one name. When some wished to form 
a sect in honor of Paul, he was shocked, and exclaimed, 
"Was Paul crucified for you ?" But all avowed such 
supreme loyalty to Jesus that, " living or dying," they 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 151 

were his ; life, health, body, mind, heart, soul — they ac- 
knowledged his sovereign right to dispose of everything. 
If there be one act of piety which must be directed to 
God ; it is prayer ; but prayer was addressed to Jesus for 
the sublimest blessings, and in the most solemn moments ; 
witness the prayer of the Apostles for an increase of faith : 
witness the prayer of Paul when stung by the thorn in 
the flesh ; above all, the prayer of Stephen ; " Into thy 
hands I commit my spirit, for thou hast redeemed me, 
Lord Grod of truth/' such was the Psalmist's prayer ; the 
dying proto-martyr applies this very language to Jesus. 
" And they stoned Stephen calling upon God, and say- 
ing, Lord Jesus receive my spirit/' 

But why, my brethren, should I speak of the homage 
rendered to the Eedeemer upon earth ? The proclama- 
tion of heaven is, "Let all the angels worship him;" 
and whenever the curtain has been raised and the eternal 
throne disclosed to mortal vision, these seraphic worship- 
pers have been seen ascribing to the Son the same adora- 
tion they ascribe to the Father. " And I beheld, and I 
h^ard the voice of many angels round about the throne, 
and the beasts and the elders ; and the number of them 
was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of 
thousands ; saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb 
that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, 
and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. And 
every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and 
under the earth, and such as are in tfie sea, and all that 
are in them heard I saying, " Blessing, honor, glory and 
power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and 



152 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

unto the Lamb forever and ever. And the four beasts 
said. Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down 
and worshipped him that liveth forever and ever/' 

All this, my dear hearers, you will admit is indis- 
putable. But now all this being so, what follows ? It 
is manifest that, so far as the testimony of the Bible is 
concerned, to deny the divinity of Jesus Christ is to 
deny that there is any deity at all. Socinians are forced 
to this single and terrible dilemma. Either they must 
reject the Bible and be infidels ; or, if they receive the 
Bible and accept its revealments as their creed, then they 
must be atheists. l v or they must believe that a being 
may do all the works peculiar to God, and yet be only a 
creature ; that he may have all the names, attributes, 
offices which are the exclusive prerogatives of God, and 
yet be only a creature ; that on earth and in heaven, in 
time and in eternity, he may justly receive the supreme 
worship which belongs to God alone, and yet be only a 
creature. All this they must affirm ; and to affirm all 
this, what is it but to say that all the j>i'oofs found in 
the Bible of the existence of God, only prove the exist- 
ence of a. creature, and disprove the existence of a Goci ; 
which is to say, that the Bible, which is given to reveal 
God to man, shuts man up to atheism. 

III. Here I rest this argument. If any truth can be 
established by the clear, irrefragable testimony of the 
Scriptures, it is the divinity of Jesus Christ. And now 
what shall we say to these things ? What can we say 
as to this most amazing deed which angels ever pon- 
dered ? Was I not right when I remarked, that if you 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 153 

would follow me in my first article, little else would be # 
required of a preacher, as your own hearts would in- 
stinctively turn, in adoring love and gratitude, to con- 
template such a phenomenon ? 

My brethren, the divinity of Christ is not a -specu- 
lative dogma, an abstraction belonging to controversial 
theology ; it is the great practical principle which must 
pervade our faith and control our conduct. It is of 
God in the flesh the Apostle says, "as many as received 
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, 
even to them that believe on his name." A devout 
habitual confidence in this truth will so elevate the soul, 
and infuse into our minds such heavenly strength and 
consolation, and so purify and rejoice the heart, that we 
will know, by daily experience, what the Apostle means 
when he declares that " Christ crucified is the wisdom 
of God, and the power of God unto salvation." On this 
subject I can say nothing which your own thoughts have 
not already anticipated. Here is a transaction, com- 
pared with which the creation of the world was easy, 
and almost unimportant. " He spake and it was done, 
he commanded and it stood fast." He said, " Let there 
be light, and there was light." But to rescue man from 
the consequences of sin, the Creator must veil his glory 
in mortal flesh ; and that same voice which by a word 
made the heavens and all the host of them by a breath, 
must be heard in the "strong crying and tears" of the 
garden, and in the bitter wailing of the cross. What an 
idea does this fact give of our apostacy and ruin and 
utter helplessness. Into what an abyss had man fallen, 



154 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

.when no other expedient could avail to rescue him. 
Most people readily admit, in some unmeaning sense/ 
that man is fallen, and guilty, and weak ; but here is an 
announcement of the malignity of sin, and of that self- 
destruction charged upon us, which may well cause us to 
stand aghast. 

Nor only guilt and corruption. "God was in Chiist 
reconciling the world unto himself/' Man, therefore, is 
God's enemy ; nay, " the carnal mind is enmity against 
God." This hostility the text takes for granted ; it is 
too plainly betrayed in the conduct of this world ; but 
it finds its aj)palling, crowning demonstration in the 
treatment which this illustrious and mysterious Being 
received while upon earth. His first approach stirred 
up the vindictive passions of men, as exhibited in the 
massacre of the infants by Herod ; and from the moment 
of his birth he was pursued with a malice which never 
relented until it had gorged itself in the bloody, direful, 
dismal tragedy of the cross. 

It is impossible for any language to convey such a 
sense of the emergencies of our case as that which at 
once insinuates itself into the mind as we behold the 
Lamb of God, and which becomes overwhelmingly fear- 
ful as we meditate upon the incarnation and crucifixion 
of a glorious person of the Godhead. And what feelings 
- should be in our bosoms, when we reflect upon the great 
salvation thus wrought out by such an interposition and 
at such an expense ? The opponents of evangelical truth 
have sometimes said that a gospel which teaches salva- 
tion wholly by faith in Christ is dangerous to morality. 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 155 

But what is the fact ? " I preached morality/' old Mr. 
Berridge used to say, " till there was not a moral man 
in my parish." Who ever preached Christ crucified, 
without seeing that this doctrine brings to bear upon 
the hearts and lives of men a power which nothing else, 
no rigors and terrors of the law can exert ? Well did he 
know the human heart who said, " To whom little is 
forgiven, the same loveth little." Let the pardon of sin 
be suspended upon any merit of ours, and, of course, 
gratitude will be so far lessened. But let all 'be forgiven 
through the riches of grace in Christ Jesus, and there 
springs up spontaneously in the bosom a feeling, which 
the Saviour compares to the deep and enduring thank- 
fulness of the bankrupt, when, instead of binding him 
' hand and foot and casting him into prison for life, his 
creditor wipes out all old scores, and sets him up again 
in business. 

" Dangerous to morality !" How dangerous ? Can 
any man find encouragement to sin, or hope of impu- 
nity, in a doctrine which discloses such an altar and 
such a victim stretched upon it ? If when he stood as 
our substitute, God spared not his own Son, but exacted 
of that surety the extremest penalty — can any man per- 
sist in sin, reject this salvation, turn the grace of God into 
licentiousness — adding thus to the guilt of a violated law 
the deeper guilt of a despised, abused gospel— and yet 
wrap about him the deceitful flattery that he can escape 
the punishment justly due to his guilt and obduracy ? 

When this great truth is fully received, its purifying 
efficacy reaches the springs of character, and will control 



Ij'S THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

the life. Given, a world burdened with guilt, and filled 
with enmity to God. Required, to engage this world in 
cheerful' loving obedience to God. There is the great 
problem ; and how has it been solved ? " God was in 
Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imput- 
ing their trespasses unto them f had he come to impute 
their trespasses unto them — to shed fast vengeance upon 
these guilty rebels — their doom had been as terrible as 
just. But he comes to "bear their iniquities in his own 
body on the tree/' And, now, to those who receive him, 
"his blood cleanseth from all sin ;" all is freely forgiven. 
At these words, what a load falls from the' heart ; grati- 
tude takes the place of fear and despondency ; law is 
transfigured into love ; the conscience sees all the past 
cancelled ; imperfections there are and will be, but they 
do not oppress the soul in gloom, they draw it nearer to 
its gracious, compassionate, Almighty Saviour. And 
thus passion is quelled, the power of corruption is 
broken ; we are kept humble and meek and earnest in 
prayer ; and we address ourselves to every duty with a 
fresh and inexhaustible outfit of strength and hope and 
cheerful faith — with that full assurance of conquering, 
wdiich always ensures conquest, which is itself the 
noblest of victories. 

In finishing, let me ask each of you with individual 
reference, how is your heart affected by this subject ? 
This incarnate, crucified God, what is he to you ? Will 
not your hearts give way before all this love and conde- 
scension, and rejoice in such an ever- glorious Eedeemer ? 

After what you have heard, it seems hardly necessary 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 157 

for me to remind you that the atonement by Jesus is 
the all-sufficient and only foundation of salvation for 
our race. " Him hath God set forth to be a propitiation 
for our sins/' " His blood cleanseth from all sin." The 
inspired writers always regard it as a point settled, that 
this amazing substitution could effect nothing less than 
a full and perfect satisfaction to divine justice. Nor can 
we receive this truth without feeling how preposterous 
is the thought of combining with the infinite merit of 
Christ any works or virtues of our own. It would be 
scarcely more absurd and impious to attempt to scale 
the heavens, and approach the blazing throne on which 
the glorified Redeemer sits, and embellish his diadem 
with tinsel jewelry of earth. And as this salvation is 
complete, so it is the only salvation. Had it been pos- 
sible to reconcile the divine attributes, and rescue man 
otherwise, we may be sure that God, who does nothing 
in vain, would not have employed an expedient demand- 
ing such a priceless expenditure. But " there is salva- 
tion in no other ; for there is none other name given 
under heaven among men whereby we must be saved." 
" Other foundation can no man lay, than that is laid, 
which is Jesus Christ." Hence the Apostle utters that 
question, so pregnant and portentous — " How shall we 
escape if we neglect so great salvation ?" 

Our subject teaches an important lesson as to the 
design and dignity of the Christian ministry. In the 
language of Milton, " the ghost of a linen decency is too. 
much upon us."- The world has been too much under 
the influence of men, who have, for the gospel, substi- 



15S THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

tuted cabalistic forms, and mystical gifts, and sacra- 
mental virtues. See here what is the object and glory 
of the ministry. It is to carry out the scheme for which 
God was manifested in the flesh. " God was in Christ, 
reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their 
trespasses unto them ; and hath committed unto us the 
word of reconciliation " 

" The fulness" (not a part) " of the Godhead dwell- 
eth in him bodily." Jesus is the embodiment of Deity, 
" the brightness of God's glory and the express image of 
his person." " God is love ;" and in the Redeemer this 
love is manifested, not as the weakness of a sentimental, 
effeminate Being, who cannot enforce the penalty of his 
laws, but as the tenderness and compassion of a God, 
who will " by no means clear the guilty," and yet who 
— that he might be " a just God and a" Saviour" — that 
he might reconcile his holiness and justice with his 
mercy — " so loved the world that he gave his only be- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not 
perish but have everlasting life." 

The work of the Christian ministry is to set forth 
this wonderful truth ; to cry, " Behold the Lamb of 
God ;" and thus to warn, and woo, and win men. The 
object of preaching is to reconcile men to God. For this 
purpose it was that God came down to earth, came home 
to our homes and hearts in Jesus Christ. " God was in 
Christ reconciling the world unto himself" — that is, unto 
God. What an unequivocal assertion of the divinity of 
Jesus ! And now, that he has ascended to heaven, he 
has committed this work to his ministers. What a 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 159 

work ! " We are ambassadors of God/' publishing a 
general amnesty, proclaiming a crucified Jesus ; thus at 
once proving and subduing the enmity of the human 
heart. For such a diplomacy who is sufficient ? The 
strength of a cherub, were all too weak, the tenderness 
of a seraph all too cold. " As though God did beseech 
you" (what language is this !) u we pray you in Christ's 
stead" If Christ were here, instead of speaking to you 
as I do, he would be all bathed in tears. Would that I 
had power and pathos and eloquence, that I might con- 
secrate them to the furtherance of this treaty. But, 
feeble as is our ministry, ought it not to be effectual on 
such a theme ? Ought not your own reason, your con- 
science, your heart, to supersede the necessity of any 
ministry, and awaken instinctively in you the play of 
every noble and generous feeling ? 

It is, however, above all, the love of Christ which 
ought to absorb our souls, as we meditate upon this sub- 
ject. Tigranes, king of Armenia, not only offered a thou- 
sand talents, but surrendered himself in person, that he 
might redeem his wife, who had been taken captive. This 
devotion so touched Cyrus, in whose power they were, 
that he released them both freely. Being asked, on her 
return home, as to the person of so princely a conqueror, 
the wife replied, " I did not see him, my eyes beheld only 
the man who so loved me as to offer such a price, and 
expose himself to such a death for my sake." Shall the 
kindness of an earthly benefactor thus inflame the heart ; 
and shall not the love of Christ blind us to all earthly 
objects, and turn and fix our adoring gaze on him, who 



160 THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 

for our ransom poured out his blood, and humbled him- 
self unto death, even the death of the cross ! 

We have seen the glory which he had with the Fa- 
ther before the world was. And we know all that he 
welcomed for us while we were enemies ; how he became 
a poor, weary wanderer on the face of his own earth, a 
homeless, houseless man ; how his friends denied and 
betrayed him, and his foes heaped every indignity upon 
him ; how he was dragged as a culprit to the bar, and 
even in the halls of justice, where common decency pro- 
tects the vilest felons from insult, how he met only wan- 
ton mockery and outrage ; and how at last (oh heavens !) 
a traitor and murderer was released, and he, the Prin-ce of 
Life, nailed to the gibbet in his room. After this, what 
admiration, what gratitude, what love ought to ravish our 
hearts, and rivet our affections upon this disinterested, 
generous, magnanimous Redeemer. earth, and ail 
the things of earth which have hitherto charmed me ! 
your spell is dissolved, one view of this adorable Being 
has disenchanted me of you forever ; I count you all but 
dross and filth, for the excellency of the knowledge of 
Christ Jesus my Lord. Ye criminal objects, which I 
hated even while I yielded to your seductions, cease to 
tempt me ; your power I now despise. And ye lawful 
objects, so justly dear to my heart, transient and feeble 
are your attractions, compared with those which draw 
and bind me to this incarnate love, which is lifted up 
and bleeds for me. While life lasts, I will know nothing 
but Jesus Christ and him crucified. When the pulses 
shall be ceasing, and the heart-strings breaking, my 



THE DEITY OF CHRIST. 161 

vision, no longer able to discern my friends and family 
weeping around my bed, shall see him smiling upon me, 
beckoning me to come up thither ; my voice, which can 
no more whisper tender adieus to those most precious to 
me upon earth, shall still be murmuring, " Come, Lord 
Jesus, come quickly/' Nor, yonder in heaven, shall any 
object divert my ravished eyes from him. There my 
glory shall be in his cross ; there, with a rapture Thomas 
never knew, I will fall at his feet exclaiming, " My Lord 
and my God." And neither the streets of gold, nor the 
pavements of sapphire, nor the waving trees of life, nor 
angel, nor archangel, will have charms or beauty for me. 
My full-orbed gaze will but take in the loveliness of him, 
" the fairest among ten thousand and altogether lovely." 
My ear will but quaff the music of that voice. My lips 
will but echo back that hallelujah, bursting from myri- 
ads of blest voices around the throne, ." Worthy is .the 
Lamb !" " Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power 
be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb forever. Amen." 



"JEHOVAH TSIDKEXUE." 

(, THE LORD OUR BldHTEOUS-NESS." 

Jrr.ZMiAn, xxiii. 6. 

u I once was a stranger to grace and to G 
I knew not my danger and felt not my load. 
Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree. 
Jehovah Tsidkenue was nothing to me. 

I oft read with pleasure, to soothe or engage, 
Isaiah's wild measure, or John's simple page : 
But e'en when they pictured the blood-sprinkled tree, 
Jehovah Tsidkenue seemed nothing to me. 

Like tears from the laughters ofZion that roll. 

I wept when the waters went over his soul; 

Yet (bought not that my sin had nailed to the tree 

Jehovah Tsidkenue : 'twas nothing to me, 

"When free grace awoke me by light from on high. 
Then legal fears shook me. I trembled to die; 
ZSTo refuge, no safety in self could I see : 
Jehovah Tsidkenue my Saviour must be. 

My terrors all vanished before the sweet name. 
My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came 
To drink at the fountain life-giving and free : 

Jehovah Tsidkenue is all tilings to me. 

Jehovah Tsidkenue ! my treasure and boast, 
Jehovah Tsidkenue ! I ne'er can be lost : 
In thee I shall field, 

My cable', my anchor, my breastplate and shield. 

E'en treading :h v of death, 

is "watchword" shall rally i ig breath, 

For while from life's t? me free, 

Jehovah Tsidkenue my death song shall be." 



SERMON VI. 

SINFUL PLEASURES, 



"THE PLEASURES OF SIN FOR A SEASON." 
(Preached before the Young Men's Christian Association, in Charleston, S. C.) 



As a native of this State ever dear to me, as a lover 
of our common country, I feel it good to* be here ; for I 
remember the wise remark of Lord Bacon, that if we 
would foretell the character of a nation twenty years to 
come, we must study the characters of her young men 
between the ages of eighteen and twenty- five. 

But it is as a Christian, especially a Christian minis- 
ter, that I am profoundly interested in these associa- 
tions of young men, which are springing up everywhere 
over the land. The very word, Youth — how many tender 
and solemn reflections cluster about that word. Its 
evanescence ; if life would but stop at this delightful 
period, but on it rushes and we are young no longer. 
Its wealth of buoyancy and hope and vivacity ; but each 
year and month and week and day is an expenditure of 
this inestimable treasure. Of all our earthly possessions 
character alone is immortal, and it is in youth we re- 
ceive those contributions which are afterwards consoli- 



164 SINFUL PLEASURES. 

dated into what we call character. Wo have read of a 
man who paid a large sum that he might sow a field 
with one crop, and reap that sowing. He planted acorns. 
Thus it is with us ; we have hut one youth, if that be 
sown with the prolific seeds of evil, wo for the harvest 
we must gather in all after life. ' In short, a youth 
wasted in sin — what a retrospect ! What mortification 
so painful as that of a Christian who mournfully looks 
back upon such a loss, and feels it is too late to make 
any reparation. 

The words just read are from the twenty-fifth verse 
of the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. 
The whole chapter may be styled the roll-call of the 
chivalry of faith. The passage seems to me peculiarly 
appropriate to the occasion, for it commemorates the 
moral heroism of a young man; of Moses, who "esteemed 
the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treas- 
ures of Egypt, choosing rather to suffer affliction with 
the people of Grod, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for 
a season/' 

These las!; words are our .text, in unfolding which I 
am going to do two things.- I wish, first, to enquire, 
what pleasures are sinful ; and then to glance at the 
two fearful truths here announced as to all such pleas- 
ures ; they are the pleasures of sin, and they are but for 
a season. 

In treating such a subject I confess to you I feel 
somewhat discouraged. When we attempt to establish 
a truth or defend a doctrine, we may hope much from 
argument ; but pleasure belongs to the taste, the pas- 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 165 

sions — and taste is not subject to argument, the pas- 
sions are not to be dealt with by logic. No matter how 
conclusive the demonstration, a pleasure tasted, a pleas- 
ure remembered, will mock it to scorn. Take an artifi- 
cial fruit, look at it, then put it into your mouth ; and 
you will feel the difference between the cold thing called 
judgment, and the vivid thing called taste. Now to- 
night Jbut I will not indulge these thoughts, I will 

not yield to despondency. Grocl, I turn to thee ; my 
expectation is from thee, all my resource is in thee. 
For Jesus' sake vouchsafe me the adorable succors of 
thy Holy Spirit ; then even this discourse shall not be 
in vain. In whatever weakness sown, thy word shall be 
raised strong and victorious. 

I. I am first to discuss a matter of casuistry, I am 
to enquire what pleasures are sinful ; nor, in fact, can 
this topic be too carefully explained. For while all, 
especially among the young, profess to revere the gospel, 
it is marvellous to observe how almost all so contrive to 
interpret that gospel as to spare their darling passion. 
And it is curious to see, too, by what directly opposite 
courses people manage to arrive at the same conclusion. 

If you listen to one half of the world, the gospel is a 
system so relaxed that it really requires no self-denial 
at all. " What harm can there be in such things ? such 
indulgences surely cannot be wrong ; a man certainly 
may be a good Christian, and yet comply with these 
. customs, and enjoy these gratifications/' That is to 
say, these people are resolved to " live in pleasure and 
be wanton/' to pamper every appetite, "the lust of the 



166 SINFUL PLEASURES. 

flesh, the lust of the eye, the pride of life ;" and the gos- 
pel must be as pliant as their passions, as loose as their 
lives. 

The theology of the other half of the world is just the 
reverse of this. They magnify the severity of the gospel 
and exaggerate its demands. " For me, when I become 
a Christian, I do not mean to be like many I see, I 
mean to be a good Christian. But to be a good Chris- 
tian, how hard. A good Christian must be dead to all 
pleasure ; a good Christian must extirpate his passions ; 
a good Christian must destroy his nature, and be not a 
man but an angel/' That is to say, this class are 
equally determined to gratify themselves in the things 
they love best, and seek to quiet their consciences by 
making the gospel a religion wholly impracticable, en- 
tirely impossible to such being as man. 

Now with regard to this latter class, I cannot but 
pause a moment to confess that they are not alone cul- 
pable, when they describe religion as a dark and gloomy 
thing, frowning and scowling upon all cheerfulness and 
relaxation. Too many professed Christians thus repre- 
sent it. But is this the religion of the Bible ? but was 
this the religion of Him who, in the very beginning of 
his ministry, was present at a marriage — an occasion of 
peculiar mirth to the Jews — and who, by his first mir- 
acle, added to the innocent festivities of the scene ? And 
these same crabbed disciples, is it their religion which 
makes them sour and crabbed ? Not at all ; they would 
have been a great deal worse but for the little piety they 
have. It was John Wesley who said, his wife proved 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 167 

tliat the grace of God might be grafted on a crab tree ; 
and we have too many of these grafts in all our churches 
— the original sour stock very strong and vigorous, the 
scion, very feeble, of tardy and somewhat mutinous vege- 
tation. 

One man is naturally hypochondriacal, atrabilious, 
querulous ; another is discontented and petulant ; a 
third is sad, silent, solitary, saturnine ; a fourth has 
lost all relish for any enjoyment, he is peevish through 
age or disease, and with him true orthodoxy must be 
a dyspeptic, musty, mouldy, moping, croaking thing ; 
while a fifth is simply bad tempered, and the same 
spirit which makes him a tyrant in his family, and vin- 
dictive to all who oppose him, mars his religion, causing 
him to forget that true zeal is only love in action, and 
to think himself faithful, when he is only sullen, morose, 
and overbearing. 

My friends, the gospel has no sort of sympathy with 
such tempers as these. Jesus a hard man ! — perish such 
impiety ; nor was . that libel uttered except by the ser- 
vant who w*as hard and faithless himself. Besides its 
own peculiar joys, the religion of Jesus allows every 
pleasure which a rational being ought to desire ; and 
this I promise to prove should it ever be necessary. 
Indeed, to tell you the whole truth, I had, when study- 
ing this subject, prepared some arguments on this point. 
Upon reflection, however, I doubted if any such discus- 
sion was called for at this time. Charleston must be 
very different from Baltimore, if Christians here are in 
any danger of going too far in mortification and self- 



168 SINFUL rLEASURES. 

denial. At least, after spending several days here, and 
conversing with pastors and members of different de- 
nominations, I have not heard a single complaint of this 
kind. I have therefore laid aside these arguments. I 
hold them, however, in reserve. And I here pledge my- 
self, that if, on my return home, you shall, at any time, 
inform me, of a single teacher who is seducing people 
into too great deadness to the world, or of a single man 
or woman who is carrying self abnegation to an unscrip- 
tural excess, I will instantly come back, and here, in 
this pulpit, I w T ill vindicate the gospel from this misan- 
thropical apostle, this deluded ascetic. 

At present the danger is not from this, but from a 
very different quarter. Little fear lest people become 
anchorites and eremites, and not allow themselves inno- 
cent pleasures ; the difficulty is, to make them believe 
that any pleasures are not innocent. Hence the great 
importance of our present topic, of a correct casuistry 
as to the question, what pleasures are sinful ? And the 
following maxims, will, I think, be sufficient to guide us 
safely in the inquiry. 

And first — our first maxim — any pleasure which is, 
in itself, a direct violation of one of the ten command- 
ments, or which involves such a violation, is sinful, and, 
unless renounced, will be fatal to the soul. 

The purity of my office, the sanctity of this temple, 
the delicacy of my hearers, forbid even an allusion to 
some pleasures which belong to this category. Nor is it 
necessary ; those for whom this article is designed un- 
derstand me only too well. And what a shame, that 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 169 

time, talents, a life given us that we may know God 
and honor his name and adore the Redeemer and bless 
mankind and aspire to an exceeding and eternal weight 
of glory — that this time and these talents and this life 
should be desecrated to acts of which it is impossible for 
a minister to speak, even with the most studied ambi- 
guity and obscurity, without outraging all decency, and 
justly exciting the murmurs of his audience. As to 
these vices delicacy imposes silence upon a preacher ; 
at the judgment, however, there will be no such deli- 
cacy. 

But a pleasure, though innocent in itself, may be- 
come criminal by involving the violation of a law of 
God. Suppose, for instance, that an indulgence harm- 
less, nay proper, is complicated with a profanation of 
the Sabbath ; nothing can then justify it, and it is to 
be classed with the sins condemned by this maxim. 

My beloved hearers, it matters just nothing at all 
what may be the plea urged ; custom, fashion, the circle 
in which you move, position, office — it signifies nothing. 
The same God who has forbidden adultery and theft and 
murder, has forbidden Sabbath-breaking ; and he will 
punish one of these crimes as surely as the others. 

Nor is this all. Who can tell what may be, and 
have often been, the baneful fruits of this common but 
heinous sin ? For my part, were I called on to mark 
the point of separation between two young men — one 
passing through every gradation of vice, sinking from 
depth to depth of swift degeneracy — the other winning 
respect and honor here and glory hereafter, I should, 

8 



170 SINFUL PLEASURES. 

without a moment's hesitation, name the profaning or 
hallowing of the Sabbath. And with reason ; for a 
conscience stupefied,* a taste vitiated, and all the un- 
searchable seductions of pernicious friendships — how 
many a young man has reaped all this terrible harvest 
from a single desecrated Sabbath ! 

A second maxim. Any pleasure which takes and 
keeps the heart from God is sinful, and unless forsaken, 
will be fatal to the soul. 

" My son, give me thy heart ;" this requirement is 
an epitome of all requirements. Examine all false reli- 
gions, all superstitions, formalisms, and other falsehoods, 
and you will find them all to be counterfeit substitutes 
for the heart. But there can be no substitute for the 
heart. The heart is indispensable if we would compre- 
hend the gospel ; the truths of the Spirit are "tilings 
which God hath prepared for them that love him/' 
" With the heart man believeth unto salvation/' "The 
Lord opened the heart of Lydia," before she could un- 
derstand the things spoken by Paul ; the gospel is the 
language of love, and only love can interpret it to the 
soul. The heart is indispensable if we would obey the 
gospel. Every day we hear people asking, " Where is 
the precept which requires such a duty ? Where is the 
precise law which forbids such an action ?" But this is 
to take up the whole thing amiss. The gospel cannot 
enter into every detail ; it demands the heart, and in I 
that requirement settles at once every question of every 
duty. In short, the heart is everything in the religion 
of Jesus ; piety is not an exertion of the intellect, it is 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 171 

love ; love is the ordinance of all ordinances, the sacra- 
ment of all sacraments. 

Now, suppose no particular command be violated, 
yet if a pleasure rob God of the heart, it virtually vio- 
lates every precept ; for as " love is the fulfilment of the 
whole law," so the want of love is the transgression of 
the whole law. Hence " she that liveth in pleasure is 
dead while she liveth m " and hence the description of rep- 
robates is, that they are "lovers of pleasure more than 
lovers of God/' 

I know, my friends, what is the plea usually urged 
when we press these truths. It is youth. But what a ' 
plea, especially what a plea from the lips of a Christian. 
As if we were commanded not to remember, but to for- 
get our Creator in the days of our youth. As if the 
allurements of sin were less dangerous to the young than 
to the old; ah, if some must go into the haunts # of 
temptation, let it be your aged deacons, and grey-headed 
elders — they may escape — though I am not so sure of 
that. As if a life of pleasure, for which the passions are 
pleaded in youth, is not sure to become an incurable 
habit, a deplorable necessity in old age ; binding its vic- 
tims hand and foot ; still sending them to frequent the 
ball-room, the theatre, the race-course ; exhibiting the 
melancholy spectacle of old men using artificial glasses 
to detect the figures on a card, and old women loading 
their decayed forms with jewelry which sparkles the 
more, as if in brilliant mockery, from the palsied shaking 
of their decrepid forms. As if the young could not die. 
As if, above all, Jesus — as if thou wert unworthy of 



172 SINFUL PLEASURES, 

the freshness and fervor of a young heart, and deservedst 
only the dregs and refuse of a heart wasted and ex- 
hausted. 

Our third maxim regards the disorders of the pas- 
iny pleasure which increases or nourishes these 
disci'./. - is sinful, and, unless abandoned, will be fatal 
to the soul. 

Of these disorders I need say little ; alas, we all know 
them too well. Some are in the body, some in the heart, 
but all "'war against the soul.*'' They attack and seek 
to destroy the soul through every faculty we possess, 
through the mind, the conscience, the memory, the will, 
above all (0 melancholy condition, in which our noblest 
endowments expose us to the most fearful danger), 
through the imagination where these disorders are chiefly 
to be dreaded. Our passions were originally given us 
for noble purposes, but depraved as they now are. they- 
render life a long and arduous battle to the holiest. If. 
then ; instead of retrenching these disorders, we inflame 
them, what must be the result ? The history of such a 
case is easily written, for it is every day exemplified. 

Our devotions suggest a fourth maxim. Any pleas- 
ure which unfits us for communion with God is sinful, 
and. unless relinquished, will be fatal to the soul. 

Apply this maxim to certain recreations. You say 

they are innocent : I do not discuss that question, but 

do these recreations cause you to turn to God with new 

fervor and delight, or do they poison the heart with a 

staste for spiritual joys ? And apply this maxim 

-rtain company. " Good society,'' you say ; very well, 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 173 

I highly value good society, but what is the influence of 
this society, which you call good, upon your soul ? Do 
not its vanities dissipate your thoughts and estrange you 
from God ? If Jesus was now upon earth, would you 
find him in this society ? Are the" inspirations received 
through a pious father or holy mother nourished in this 
society ? When you were first converted to God, did 
you relish this society ? And if now you were just from 
a sick chamber, where you had drawn nigh to th# grave, 
and eternity had been disclosed to your eyes — would you 
desire to mingle with this society ? could you endure its 
frivolities and its follies ? * 

A single maxim more. This points to our besetting 
sin. Any pleasure is criminal which confirms the em- 
pire of this sin. 

All men betray a common nature, the same sins and 
lusts. But whether it be temperament, or education, or 
the air we breathe, or the food we eat — certain it is that, 
besides this general depravity, each individual has some 
master-passion, against which he must guard most sleep- 
lessly. Nor is it possible to overstate the tyranny of 
this* sin, if once it " has dominion over" a man ; for it 
will mock at all his vows, and, without incessant prayer 
and vigilance, he will either be surprised by the sudden- 
ness, or borne down by the power, or seduced by the in- 
sidiousness of temptation. 

" Lord, with, what care hast thou begirt us round ! 
Parents first season us ; then schoolmasters 
Deliver us to laws ; these send us bound 
To rules of reason, holy messengers, 



174 SINFUL PLEASURES. 

Pulpits and Sundayes ; sorrow dogging sinne, 
Afflictions sorted ; anguish of all sizes; 
Fine nets and stratagems to catch us in; 
Bibles laid open, millions of surprises, 
Bbssings beforehand, tyes of gratefulnesse. 
The sound of gfori3 ringing in our ears, x 
"Without our shame ; within our consciences ; 
Angels and grace, eternal hopes and fears. 
Yet all these forces and their whole array, 
One cunning bosom-sinne blows quite away." 



We every day hear people discussing the abstract na- 
ture of certain actions, but this is downright folly ; since, 
whatever may be said about the general quality of such 
acts, these men know that to them they are perfectly 
disastrous. Fire is a very good thing, and gunpowder 
may be put to good uses. Very true. Nobody can ques- 
tion either of these propositions. But suppose a man 
should infer from these premises that he may safely sit 
upon a barrel of gunpowder and thrust a lighted torch 
into it. Not less foolish and fatal his reasoning, who 
ventures upon indulgences, because they are harmless to 
others, when he knows that they will inflame his blood, 
and rouse within him passtons defying all control. 

Certain friendships, you insist, ascertain kind of read- 
ing and conversation — surely there is nothing wrong in 
these. Why argue this question when you know that 
— however others may not be injured by these com- 
pliances — to you they always proved most pernicious ? 
" But it is a mere trifle, a little thing." As well might 
you say, It is only a little spark which is about to ignite 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 175 

a train, and spring a deadly' mine slumbering beneath 
your feet. 

II. If I have dwelt long upon our first article, I hope 
its importance will be my ample apology ; I will en- 
deavor *to make some atonement by studying brevity in 
our remaining topic, to which I now pass. 

Thus far I have been making a concession, and I de- 
sire to be very explicit as to this concession ; for the 
declamations on this subject sometimes uttered in our 
pulpits are refuted by the experience of the audience, 
and, like all falsehoods, do much harm. 

Not that we ought to be surprised at such strong and 
sweeping assertions from the ministers of God. My 
friends, sin can no more make its votary truly happy in 
this world than it can make him happy in hell, where 
its power will be complete and uninterrupted. And 
when a man who, for five, ten, twenty years, has been 
defiled by sensual indulgence, is emancipated, and tastes 
the pure and purifying joys of that wisdom whose " ways 
are pleasantness and all whose paths are" peace"— what 
wonder if, as the Apostle says, there is wrought in him 
a holy indignation and revenge ? Who can be surprised 
if, forgetting the few delirious moments, he regards the 
whole of his" past life with unmitigated disgust, exclaim- 
ing, " What fruit had ye then in those things whereof 
ye are now ashamed ?" 

However, sin has its pleasures. Though " it be the 
gall of asps within him/' yet " wickedness is sweet in 
his mouth/' To deny this would not only be to contra- 
dict the Bible, but, as I have said, it would cause many 



176 SINFUL PLEASURES. 

of our hearers to smile at our ignorance, to regard us as 
very good sort of people — well enough acquainted with 
books perhaps — but knowing nothing of the world. Sin 
has its pleasures ; our text admits this, and we admit it. 
I go farther. Hear me, ye minions of the passions. I 
tell you sin has delights far more vivid and delirious 
than any within your reach or your conception. What 
are the stinted and diluted rills at which you sip, 
compared with the pleasures proposed to Moses ; all 
the magnificent prodigality and exquisite refinement 
of Oriental voluptuousness, and that regal ? 

Indeed all reasoning on this point is absurd ; for 
pleasure is a matter of taste, and there is no disputing 
about taste. If, then, you are bent upon a life of sin, 
vainly would I stand here arguing the case with you. 
But, before you adopt this resolution — before you under- 
mine reason and reflection, and surrender yourself to 
passions which will soon become inordinate and inexora- 
ble and render your salvation impossible — listen to me ; 
ponder the two warnings in our text as to sinful pleas- 
ures ; reflect seriously upon the two offsets there men- 
tioned as to all criminal joys — offsets which not only so 
deduct from these joys as to justify the choice of Moses, 
but which stamp utter and unutterable madness on the 
conduct of those who refuse to imitate him. 

The text, I have said, mentions two offsets, and what 
are these ? The first is, that these pleasures are " the 
pleasures of sin." Eevolve this truth in your mind, 
penetrate its' fearful import, and then put the poisoned 
chalice to your 4ips if you can. 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 177 

gI]ST that word ought to be written in a para- 
graph, a page, a book by itself': and written in blood. 
Men and brethren, what sin is, I know not ; I only 
know that when God would mark the heinousness of 
sin, no adjective can be found sufficiently energetic but 
one borrowed from sin itself ; and he describes it as 
" exceeding sinful/' I only know that over the whole 
earth, and in all the depths of hell, sin is the only thing 
which God abhors ; the only object which the absolute, 
essential, quintessential love hates with absolute, essen- 
tial, quintessential hatred ; exclaiming in tones of im- 
ploring deprecation, " 0, do not this abominable thing 
that I hate." I only know that, if God has a govern- 
ment, sin is treason against that government ; if God is 
holy, just, and true, sin defies and outrages these perfec- 
tions. As the tenderest of fathers, God yearns in ineffa- 
ble compassion over his children ; but sin arms those 
children and arrays them in horrible revolt against this 
adorable Being — causing him to use the language of a 
parent who, finding all entreaties vain, turns from his 
unnatural offspring, and seeking some lonely spot, pours 
out his griefs there, making rocks and ■ vales vocal with 
his complaints, as in anguish he cries, "Hear, oh heaven, 
and be astonished, oh earth, for I have nourished and 
brought up children and they have rebelled against me." 
Above all, my brethren, look there ! fix your eyes upon 
the cross, and tell me, now, if you can, what sin is. Oh 
cross, cross, dripping, smoking with the blood of incar- 
nate Deity my beloved brethren, as we gaze there, 

what is our estimate of sin ? What a hideous phenome-' 

8* 



ITS SINFUL PLEASURES. 

non is this, without a name, which it will require eter- 
nity to comprehend and to deplore. 

Nor does sin only attack and insult God and seek to 
be a deicide ; it is a homicide, and in the most dreadful 

- j ; it is the author of all the woes, burthened with 
which " the whole creation groaneth together/' Wherever 
human forms pine with disease, or writhe with pain, the 
sickness and the agony are inflicted by sin. Wherever 
human hearts bleed and are torn with affliction and an- 
^guish, the blow has been struck by sin. Sin snatches 
from our arms those objects which are dearer than life, 
hurrying them to the grave, 'and giving them as food to 
worms ; and sin is digging graves and preparing worms 
for us. Sin sends forth the jDestilence that walketh in 
darkness, and the destruction that wasteth at noonday. 
Sin riots in lust, and blood, and murder. Sin revels in 
scenes where brothers born of a common Father in heaven, 
rush upon each other like demons, and are mingled in 
promiscuous carnage, till the trampled and gore-sodden 
earth cries out to heaven. Every burning tear, every 
harrowing fear, every festering grief, every corroding 
care, every shooting pang, every piercing remorse ; the 
sighs and moans of lazar-houses reeking with putrefac- 
tion and death ; the shrieks and wails and clanking of 
chains in hospitals swarming with maniacs ; and the 
curses and blasphemies of dungeons where guilt rots and 
raves— these, all these, are but feeble reverberations of 
those dismal truths, " Sin reigns unto death/' " Death, 
hath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." 

This is not the worst. Pestilence, suffering, death, 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 179 

are only cutaneous symptoms of the interior plague ; 
they are really merciful, for they warn us of the blight 
within. Sin murders the soul. Its withering, blasting 
curse is not exhausted in this life, but goes with us into 
eternity, to be perfected and perpetuated there. " The 
wages of sin is death" — death to all spiritual life now, 
and an immortality of pain and tears and despair. " The 
sting of death is sin ;" the weeping and wailing of the 
judgment will be sin ; and sin will be the ever-gnawing 
worm and the ever-quenchless fire. 

Enter, now, my dear hearer, into these truths ; unite 
them ; think what sin is, what sin has done, what sin is 
doing, what sin will do in eternity — are you surprised 
that Grod pronounces them fools " who make a mock at 
sin/' and that we are exhorted to "resist unto bloo'd 
striving against sin ?" What shall we then say of him 
who not only sins, but finds his highest pleasure in a 
life of sin ? " She gave him milk" — thus is it written 
of Jael and Sisera, and how apposite this tragedy to sin 
and its infatuated .victims — " She gave him milk, she 
brought forth butter in a lordly dish. She put her hand 
to the nail, her right hand to the workman's hammer ; 
and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off 
his head, when she had pierced and^ stricken through his 
temples. At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down ; 
at her feet he bowed, he fell, where he bowed, there he 
fell down dead." 

But the text not only warns us that these indul- 
gences are the pleasures of sin ; it sounds another alarm, 
and bids us reflect how transient these fatal pleasures 



FUL PLEASURES. 

.'" Ponder these words, 
ks. 

•• The pleasui n" Of what does 

this aind as? it is I. the cruel chasm 

ich the pie £ sin leave, no matter how sncc 

ful their may he. 

If t] louldbe one voluptuous exhila- 

ration, still how brief the pleasing degradation, But, 
alas, few and short the moments of excitement ; long 
and dreary the intervals of lassitude and disgust. Satia- 
without being sa<isried ; feeling the vanity of the 
;a which enslave you. yet unwilling to break the 
_ lage : secretly envying the righteous, yet not having 
firmness to imitate them ; carrying with you the con- 
such faeulries for happiness, yet confessing 
rself unhappy ; knowing that the whole world could 
fill your heart, yet seeking to meet the wants of that 
heart in an endless repetition and circulation of follies, 
in an eternal buzz and hurry of amusement — oh. my 
hearer, what a commentary is your lite upon the 
coni te who exhausted every pleasure only to 

[aim, "'Vanity of vanities, oil is vanity and vexation 
of spirit." 

" The pi .:f sin for a season." Of what does 

language admonish us ? it is the sad interruptions 

which these sinful pleasures must know in such a world. 

-. ns will ; muds of revelry must give 

way to the sounds of weeping ; when the house of mirth 

j of mourning ; when the prodigal 

will come to himself; when the daughters of music shall 



SINFUL PLEASURES. . 181 

be brought low, when on the very spot where we had 
sat clown and said, Come, let us deck ourselves with 
rosebuds, a grave opens, and one who we had thought 
could never die is laid there, and the shadow of this 
death is upon the heart and its bitterness fills the soul. 
And then, oh, then, how does a life of sinful pleasure 
appear ? Earth, help thine own now. It is in these 
desolate moments that the promises and consolations of 
the gospel are ineffably precious ; but where can the vo- 
tary of sin turn in such an hour ? 

" The pleasures of sin for a season." This expres- 
sion suggests a third reflection. It is a dirge-like 
warning of those periods when conscience will awake, 
and ring an alarm in all the chambers of the soul. 

Let no one hope that he can free himself from con- 
science. You know better, my dear hearer. No ; " sor- 
row dogs sinne." 

" Amid the roses, fierce repentance rears 
Her snaky crest." 

A life of sin cannot bear a calm look ; conscience will 
sometimes force us to take that look, and then our very 
nature rises up and proclaims sin the greatest, the only 
real evil. Escape from conscience ! My friend, that is 
a great mistake. God has 'given us life for noble pur- 
poses, and if it be wasted in sin, a sense of wrong to the 
soul pursues us everywhere, nor can we flee from it. 
" Though they dig into hell/' says God by his prophet 
Amos, "thence shall my hand take them ; though they 
climb to heaven, thence will I bring them down. Though 



1S2 SINFUL PLEASURES. 

they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will reach 
and take them out thence : and though they be hid from 
my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I com- 
mand the serpent and he shall bite them/' 

Yes, my hearers, if " all the way to heaven is hea- 
ven/' some of the way to hell is hell. Vainly do the 
wicked ascend to a heaven of intoxicating voluptuous- 
ness, or make their bed in a hell of imbruting sensuality; 
vainly do they say, Surely the darkness shall cover us ; 
or take the wings of the morning and flee to the utter- 
most parts of the earth, seeking to dissipate their gloomy 
thoughts. It is all in vain. Conscience is still with 
them, and will be ever with them. Even now it some- 
times inflicts a punishment greater than they can bear ; 
and this is but a prophecy and beginning of that wretch- 
edness with which — unless sin be renounced and par- 
doned through the blood of Christ — it will pierce them 
forever. 

And this brings us to the last thought conveyed in 
the words " for a season/' the thought which the Holy 
Spirit designed chiefly to impress upon our minds. I 
mean death, and the retributions after death. These 
are at hand, these are rushing on, these incessantly cry, 
" Prepare to meet thy God." Can it be that, with eter- 
nity rising in view, we will forget our souls, and waste 
our little span in a giddy round of sensual pleasure ? 

Would that I knew how to make you comprehend 
what it will be to lose your soul, that I might thus com- 
pare these sinful gratifications with the price at which 
you are purchasing them. David, though perishing from 



SINFUL PLEASUEES. 183 

thirst, cast the untasted cup in horror from his lips, be- 
cause it had been procured at the risk of human life ; 
can you quaff the goblet which must cost you the blood 
of your own soul ? Moses spurned all the pomp and 
splendors of royalty, that he might secure an exceeding 
and eternal weight of glory — " choosing rather to suffer 
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the 
pleasures of sin for a season/' Does he repent that 
choice now ? Do not you admire the wisdom and noble- 
ness of that choice ? Why stop at admiration ? why 
not imitate him, and share that glorious " recompense 
of reward ?" 

My beloved hearers, think how soon we must go 
hence and be no more. Land of the living ? No, this 
earth is not the land of the living ; yonder, yonder is 
that land all burning in the sun. This is the land of the 
dying. We may repel the image of death, but we can- 
not repel death ; each month, each week, brings it 
nearer ; any day may be the last. And in such a world 
— a world where at any moment, and in any condition, 
the summons may suddenly arrest us — where Belshazzar 
is stricken down in the midst of his carousals — where 
Jezebel dies wretchedly, while decorating her person for 
an exhibition — where Herod expires, while drinking in 
the intoxicating hosannas of the people — where Holo- 
fernes perishes after the most illustrious victories, and 
by the hand of a weak woman — where a thousand dis- 
eases lie in ambuscade for us — and where any one of a 
thousand accidents may hurry us away — in such a world, 
can we abandon ourselves to the passions, and wanton 



1S4 SINFUL PLEASURES. 

in pleasure, and abuse the mercy which waits to be gra- 
cious, and spend the few moments left in merriment and 
lasciviousness ? 

It was a singular custom among the ancients, to in- 
troduce a skeleton at 'their feasts. Christian writers 
have mistaken the design ; they have supposed it was 
intended to check the excesses of the banquet, by keep- 
ing before the eyes of the revellers that ghastly monitor. 
In fact, however, the object w T as the very reverse of this. 
That hideous representative of the grave was placed amid 
their festive boards, to remind the carousers that life is 
short, and to exhort them to live and be merry while 
they could. That strange guest was brought there to 
stimulate the epicurean zeal of the bacchanalians, by 
repeating silently, but most emphatically, the proverb 
mentioned by. the Apostle, " Eat and drink, for to-mor- 
row we die/' 

I have already said, my friends, that the gospel is no 
foe to any pleasure which is innocent, and I wish you 
to enjoy all such pleasures. But, if I could, I would 
place before you such a grim and gaunt emblem of death, 
whenever and wherever you are tempted to dally with 
sin, and tamper with damnation. I would introduce a 
skeleton there, and keep it before your vision, and com- 
pel you to look at it. Not, however, that you might 
draw any such insane conclusion as that just mentioned, 
but that you might be made wiser, that your passions 
might be rebuked, and your hearts be chastened and pu- 
rified by very different reflections. 

To-morrow I die ; I know it, I feel it. Can I banish 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 185 

the thought of that decisive moment, and say, like the 
fool in the parable, " Soul, thou hast much goods laid 
up for many years, eat, drink, and be merry ?" The cul- 
prit for whom the scaffold is erected, and who is only 
respited for an hour that he may seek the clemency of 
an outraged government, can he despise this patience, 
and pamper his lusts, and riot in cards and dancing, 
while the executioner is t thundering at the door of his 
cell ? 

To-morrow I die ; and after death will be the judg- 
ment. I cannot drown a voice which incessantly cries 
in my ears, "Kejoice, young man, in thy youth, and 
let thy heart cheer thee in the clays of thy youth, and 
walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine 
eyes ; but know thou, that for all these things God will 
bring thee into judgment/' Shall I forget this judg- 
ment ? Can I mock at 'this dread tribunal, and spend 
my days in sins which must exasperate that awful sen- 
tence which shall shatter the air around me and shatter 
all my soul, " Depart accursed, into everlasting fire pre- 
pared for the devil and his angels ?" 

Lastly, to-morrow I die ; and death, what will death 
do ? Death w T ill draw the curtain, and bear me into 
eternity, and fix my destiny there forever. My soul shall 
then shoot the gulf, and mingle with angels or devils, 
and take its part, either in the rapturous hallelujahs 
around the throne, or in .the weeping, and wailing, and 
gnashing of teeth. Can I forget this, and live as if there 
were no eternity, no God, no heaven, no hell ? and throw 
the reins upon the necks of my passions that they may 



186 SINFUL PLEASURES. 

precipitate me into the gulfs of perdition, the abysses 
of fire ? Can I "live in pleasure on the earth and be 
wanton ?" Can I " live in pleasure and be dead while I 
live ?" dead to all purity and peace, dead to every sense 
of my true dignity, and glory and happiness ? dead, 
sepulchred in the senses now, and hastening to the second 
death, the deathless death, 6ver-during pain, remorse and 
despair ? 

Oh, my dear hearer, especially you who are " in life's 
young morning march/' I implore you, I conjure you, let 
not this doom be yours. " Flee youthful lusts/' "flee 
from the wrath to come." Any loss but the loss of your* 
soul ; any mortal thing rather than that. Come the re- 
verses which shall break off all your schemes, and strip 
you of all you possess, steeping you to the lips in pov- 
erty ; come the sickness which shall stretch you hope- 
lessly on the bed of pain and languishing ; come the 
blow which shall shiver all your hopes, and heap desola- 
tion upon your hearth ; come the storm which shall 
sweep every star from out your sky — come any or all of 
these, rather than the "pleasures of sin for a season/' 
and the anguish, and remorse, and punishment of sin for 
eternity. 

When we call upon you to abandon sinful pleasures, 
what do we require ? Is it that you renounce all real 
enjoyment, and live in isolation and sadness ? Far from 
it. G-od would not blot spring out of the year, nor youth 
out of life, nor mirth and joy out of youth. There is not 
a pleasure which your own reason sanctions, which is not 
left you ; and, believe it, or rather taste and know it for 



SINFUL PLEASURES. 187 

yourself, religion has joys, the memory of which is far 
sweeter than all the joys of earth. And what if there 
be self-denials and sacrifices; they are but "for a sea- 
son/' Soon the conflicts and toils of* the Christian will be 
over ; and then he shall be ushered into that presence 
" where there is fulness of joy/' and pass to that " right 
hand/' where there "are pleasures" — not of sin but of 
holiness — not for a season, but " forevemiore." 

"DUM VIVIMUS, VIVAMUS." "While we 
live, let us live." Such was the motto of the Epicureans ; 
and, for my part, not only am I no enemy to your true 
happiness, but I wish every one in this house to become 
an Epicurean, and to adopt this motto' as his own ; to 
say, " While I live, I will live" — live truly — live as I 
ought to live — live not making life a carnival of debas- 
ing sensuality, but live by finding in Jesus and his ser- 
vice that peace and joy which the world cannot even 
comprehend. 

" Live while you live, the epicure would say, 
• And seize the pleasures of the passing day. 

Live while you live, the holy teacher cries, 

And give to God each moment as it flies, 

Lord, in my life may both united be ; 

I live in pleasure while I live to thee 1" 



SERMOX VII. 

THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 

11 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the 
feeling of our infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we are. vet 
without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that 
we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." — Heerews, 
iv. 15, 16. 

u Somebody hath touched me, for I perceive that 
virtue is gone out of rne," you remember the occasion 
uj)on which Jesus uttered these words. Whatever be 
their primary meaning, they have a deep and wide sig- 
nificance : they apply to every case in which human sor- 
row or suffering reaches the sympathies of our nature. 
Somebody then touches us, and a benignant virtue goes 
out of our hearts, just as tears come from our eyes — we 
know not how, nor can we help it. And this influence 
of sympathy has this peculiarity, that it can only be 
exerted when it is reciprocal. Even in inanimate nature 
it is a law, that substances which cannot be attracted 
have no power to attract other substances. In the 
moral economy of the world we see the same principle. 
If you could find a man wholly incapable of sympathy, 
you would have a being who can excite no sympathy. 
And exactly in proportion to a man's coldness and 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 189 

selfishness and deadness to all tender feelings, is our 
instinctive sense of repulsion from him. 

In entering humanity, Jesus placed himself within 
the circle of this law of our nature. In being " made of 
a woman/' he was, in a peculiar manner, made under 
the law of tender and exquisite sensibilities. And it is 
by this wonderful sympathy with our ruined race that 
he attracts us to himself. " I, if I be lifted up, will 
draw all men unto me/' " For we have not a high 
priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our 
infirmities ; but was in all points tempted like as we are, 
yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the 
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find 
grace to help us in time of need/' 

I. In developing- this last passage, which I have pro-^ 
posed as my text, the first great truth which presents 
itself to our meditations is this, that in all our inter- 
course with God, we have audience and access, not im- 
mediately but mediately, not directly but through a 
High Priest, ^The avenue for innocent beings is forever 
closed against us ; and we can now draw nigh only by 
" a new and living way consecrated for us/' that is, by 
the mediation of the incarnate Son of God. Christ's 
humanity was not only his pilgrim garment, it is our 
way to the Father, and the medium through which 
spiritual blessings are communicated to us. 

It was not always thus. God is Love ; it is not said 
that he is lovely, as it is said that he is just and holy ; 
he is Love, the absolute, uncreated, essential, quintes- 
sential love. And in crowding immensity with worlds, 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 

and in peopling these worlds with intelligence and virtue, 
his purpose was. everywhere, by this vast and diversified 
but harmonious mechanism, to diffuse and multiply love 
and blessedness. The moral universe was intended as 
an exquisite machinery, a vehicle through which might 
forever circulate a love and happiness flowing directly 
from God himself. 

Sin has interrupted this harmony — breaking in upon 
it as discordantly as the clangor of a trumpet breaks in 
upon the calmness of a soft, sweet night — and now for 
man there can be communion with God only through a 
medium. Approaching God is a very awful thing to us, 
for we are guilty and polluted, and such beings cannot 
see Jehovah's face and live ; they must perish by " con- 
suming fire," if brought directly in contact with the 
holiness and justice of Him " who is of purer eyes than 
to behold evil, and cannot look upon iniquity/' 

Hence, ever since the fall, the imploring cry of hu- 
manity has been, " Wherewith shall I come before the 
Lord ?" And hence, in the religion taqgkt by God to 
his chosen people, the priesthood is so conspicuous an 
institution. We every day hear unthinking men shed- 
ding their flippant sneers against priestcraft ; but these 
croakers would do well to enquire, whence the priest de- 
rives his power. Whatever truths have been lost, this 
one truth has survived, and is found in the depths of 
human consciousness everywhere, that we are sinners 
and need a daysman in our access to an offended God 
It is this instinct which, among all nations, has created 
a priesthood, and invested it with such sanctity. In 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 191 

the Jewish system, every offering made to Jehovah was 
through the intervention of the priest. But the gor- 
geous ministry of the temple was, you know, only a 
type of the great High Priest of the gospel. " Every 
priest stancleth daily ministering and offering oftentimes 
the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But 
this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins, for- 
ever sat down on the right hand of God." 

The mediation and priesthood of Christ is, then, the 
first truth suggested by our text. In itself it is one of 
the most sublime mysteries of revelation. When the 
high priest entered into the holiest of holies, he was 
concealed from the people, but he wore golden bells upon 
the hem of his garment, that " his sound might be heard 
when he goeth in unto the holy places before the Lord/' 
And so, now, it is only as the golden notes of the gospel 
are heard, and spiritual things spiritually apprehended, 
that the priesthood of Jesus — its necessity — its efficacy 
— its glory can be known and felt by the soul. While, ' 
however, this awful mystery is inaccessible to our minds, 
there were certain requirements combined in the quali- 
fications of the Hebrew priest which, significantly and 
by the most striking analogies, delineate the august 
Antitype. 

In reading the ceremonial enactments — especially 
those recorded in the book of Leviticus — we are tempted, 
at first, almost to regard them as unworthy of Jehovah. 
We forget that the Jews were a half-civilized people ; 
and that it was necessary to teach them, as children are 
at first taught, by " patterns/' by visible representations 



192 TIIE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 

of ideas, which otherwise they could not understand. It 
was thus that "unto them the gospel was preached." 

And. as Christ is the great object of the gospel, ob- 
serve how, in the appointments of the priesthood, there 
were the most accurate and instructive emblems of that 
glorious Mediator between God and man. 

In the first place, it was necessary that the priest 
should be a Jew ; not an alien, but by birth a partaker 
of the same flesh and blood with those for whom he was 
to inter}3ose. They were thus assured that he could, 
from experience, sympathize with them. And, in this 
first qualification, we are taught the proper humanity 
of Jesus Christ. " Forasmuch then as the children were 
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise 
took part of the same. For verily he took not on him 
the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed erf 
Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved him to 
be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a 
merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertain- 
ing to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the 
people/' 

My friends, I wish you to feel this truth ; and, for 
this purpose, let us suppose that the Saviour had not 
been a man. Suppose it had been revealed, that an 
atonement had been made for our sins, in some far-off 
district of God's empire, and by some magnanimous 
benefactor belonging to an entirely different order in the 
scale of intelligent beings. Or suppose that the Son of 
God had taken the nature of angels, which would have 
been an amazing stoop, and in that nature had suf- 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 193 

fered. In each of these cases we might have felt 
gratitude, but there would have been nothing in com- 
mon between us and such a Saviour, there could have 
been no affinity, no sympathy. Hence it is that John, 
the last surviving Apostle, so earnestly and repeatedly 
condemns as a fatal heresy, the idea which some were 
beginning to put forth, that Jesus was human not really 
but illusively. Hence, too, the Scriptures so emphati- 
cally declare, that he only is a Christian, who " believes 
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh/' And do not 
pass this thought as commonplace, but pause and un- 
derstand what is meant, when it said, that Jesus Christ 
was truly and properly man. 

• By this assertion it is intended, first, that he had a 
human body. He might, by a word, have created for 
himself a body at once mature in strength and beauty ; 
but then he would have been a foreigner ; he would not 
have been the " Son of man." Such a humanity would 
have furnished no example for us, nor would he have 
been a partaker of our " flesh and blood/' Perfect and 
wonderful such an original man would have been — an 
object for admiration ; but he would never have inspired 
sympathy in our bosoms ; and we never could have been 
assured, as we now are, of the sympathy of one who had 
in all points lived our life, and been tried by our in- 
firmities and temptations. Jesus had a human body. 
" When the fulness of the time was come, God sent 
forth his Son, made of a woman/' " And the child grew 
and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the 
grace of God was upon him/' 

9 



194 TIIE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 

That Jesus was truly a man means, that he had a 
human mind. Hence it is said, the child " increased in 
wisdom/' It is because we do not fully receive the doc- 
trine of Christ's real humanity, that we feel I know not 
what shrinking from this truth, and thus give the Uni- 
tarian cin advantage over us. The Saviour was as truly 
human as he was divine ; and it is no irreverence, it is 
only uttering the plain' language of Scripture, to say, 
that as a man, he had a human intellect. Wisdom and 
knowledge were his above the children of earth, but 
still human wisdom and knowledge. And hence, while 
as to all eternal truth he was omniscient, as to events 
connected with this earth, he spake of himself as placed 
in a state of inferiority to the Father. Understand this, 
and you will easily reconcile those passages in which he 
declares, that he " will come in the clouds with all his 
holy angels to judge the earth/' with that in which he 
says, " But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, 
no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the- Son, 
but the Father." 

Above all, and what I would especially mention here 
is, Jesus had a human heart and soul. While evangel- 
ical Christians are justly jealous of the fundamental 
doctrine of Christ's divinity, it is to be feared that they 
often entertain very loose and superficial views of his 
humanity. They often speak as if the divine nature 
had only united itself to a certain machinery of matter. 
Let us remember that the mystical combination was be- 
tween Deity and an integral humanity. It is this which 
constitutes the mediator " a merciful and faithful High 



THE •SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 195 

Priest" — this, that he has in perfection all the feelingjs 
and affections of our nature ; that physically, morally, 
emotionally, spiritually, he was and is a man. 

Take, now, another requisite in the Jewish high 
priest. It was necessary that he should be appointed 
by God. "No man taketh this honor unto himself, but 
he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ 
glorified not himself to be made a high priest, but he 
that said unto him, thou art my Son, to-day have I be- 
gotten thee, saith also, Thou art a priest forever after 
the order of. Melchisedeck." The confidence of the Is- 
raelite was based upon this fact, that he committed his 
case to the mediator appointed by Jehovah himself. He 
knew, therefore, that his interests could not suffer, his 
sacrifices would not be rejected. 

And this is the Christian's assurance, that " Him 
hath God set forth." The Israelite was not expected to 
fathom the divine counsels, or to comprehend the rea- 
sons of the priestly appointment ; enough for him, that 
Jehovah had designated the person into whose hands he 
was to commit the entire management of his case. To 
the high priest, he was to leave all that concerned his 
offering and pardon. I need not tell you how the gos- 
pel system has been degraded, by the importation into it 
of abolished Jewish institutions, especially of a priestly 
hierarchy upon whom the deluded penitent relies for 
mediation. " There is one mediator between God and 
man, the man Christ Jesus ;" between Christ and men 
there can be none. But on this great High Priest and 
mediator, we may cast ourselves with perfect assurance. 



196 THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH P-MEST. 

Iii fact, all depends upon our faith in him — in him as 
" the Christ/' that is the' Anointed of God. 

In short, my brethren, observe in the light of Cal- 
vary the routine prescribed to 'the Jewish high priest, 
and you will discover several evangelical emblems full 
of instruction. In appearing before God, it was neces- 
sary that he should, first of all, wash himself in clean 
water and put on spotless garments ; he was thus typi- 
cally pure. In this he was a pattern of our great High 
Priest. The Apostle alludes to this when he says, 
" Such a high priest became us who was holy, harmless, 
un defiled and separate from sinners." Jesus could not 
have interfered for us, had he not been perfectly holy ; 
for then he would have required a mediator for himself. 
His miraculous birth exempted him from the taint of 
original depravity. "When the fulness of the time was 
come, God sent forth his Son made of a woman" (not 
in the ordinary way of generation). "He was made in 
the likeness of men." God sent " his own Son in the 
likeness of sinful flesh," (and that which is like a thing 
is not the thing itself). Such was his birth. And as to 
his life he could say, "Which of you convinceth me of 
sin ?" " The Prince of this world cometh, and hath 
nothing in me." 

Over this stainless apparel, the high priest wore vest- 
ments exceedingly gorgeous and magnificent — " garments 
for beauty and glory," which proclaimed his exalted dig- 
nity. And this imposing splendor was emblematic of 
Him who was not only "holy and harmless," but, the 
•4postte adds, "was made higher than the heavens." He 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PKIEST. 197 

who was meek and lowly was clothed with glory and 
honor. He humbled himself, but "he thought it no 
robbery to be equal with God." His humanity suffered, 
but his divinity invested his sufferings with infinite sub- 
limity and worth. 

I will only add, that the professional business of the 
high priest was to offer sacrifices for the sins of the peo- 
ple, and to make intercession for them. And this is the 
gospel as to our High Priest, " Therefore will I divide 
him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the 
spoil wi.th the strong ; because he hath poured out his 
soul unto death, and he was numbered with the trans- 
gressors, and he bore the sins of many, and made inter- 
cession for the transgressors." " Now once, in the end 
of the world, hath he appeared to put away sin by the 
sacrifice of himself.'" " Wherefore he is able also to save 
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, see- 
ing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." 

In the holy of holies was the mercy-seat, and upon it 
the Shekinah, or visible glory of Jehovah, before which 
the golden cherubim bowed themselves with outstretched 
wings. This dreadful sanctuary was separated from the 
rest of the temple by a veil ; and within these precincts 
none could enter but the high priest, without suffering 
under the insufferable light of that awful presence. 

Once a year, on the great day of atonement, the high 
priest went into the holy of holies. Before venturing 
there, he purified himself, and placed upon his person 
the resplendent breastplate, upon which were written the 
names of the twelve tribes. 



198 THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 

Having slain the victims, he carried their blood with- 
in, to sprinkle upon the mercy-seat. He took also in- 
• and a censer of burning coals, throwing the incense 
upon the coals as soon as he passed the veil, so that a 
cloud of perfume softened and mitigated that severe glory. 

In all this we see that aj>proaching God is a fearful 
thing ; but in all this what consolation. For Jesus, 
" having made peace by the blood of his cross/' " entered 
into the holiest of all, having obtained eternal redemp- 
tion for us." The veil w T as a type of Christ's humanity. 
When, therefore, his body was pierced and his soul torn 
with anguish, " the veil of the temple was rent in twain 
from the top to the bottom" — proclaiming that we all 
have access to God now by the great atonement of Cal- 
vary. "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter 
into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and liv- 
ing way which he hath consecrated for us, through the 
veil, that is to say, his flesh ; and having a High Priest 
over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart 
in full assurance of faith." There is now r but one avenue 
by which we can approach God, and th^t is a new way, 
consecrated by the cross. And, lest our conscious guilt 
and ignorance should deter us, we are assured that we have 
a sympathizing High Priest to instruct, and strengthen, 
and make reconciliation for us. So that we may come 
with boldness, assured that we shall in no wise be cast 
out, but shall receive mercy for the past, and grace for 
the present and all the future. 

II. Thus much as to the priesthood of Christ. If 
you have followed me, you feel now, that in the salva- 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 199 

tion of the gospel we have to do, from first to last, with 
one Being ; and that this Being is the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Jesus came not to reveal a religion, hut to be the object 
of religion ; not to teach us the way by which we can 
return to God, but to be u the way/' His atonement 
and intercession, like the pillar in the wilderness, are to 
our feeble reason, covered w r ith adorable darkness, but to 
faith they are radiant with adorable light. As our High 
Priest he must transact all our spiritual negotiations 
with God. He is the only mediator through whom we 
can approach the mercy-seat, and he is ever near and 
accessible. 

But how is he affected toward us ? If I am to con- 
fide entirely to him my soul, with all its interests, my 
cause and its eternal issues, it is of infinite moment for 
me to know if he comprehends my nature, if he can be 
touched with commiseration, with a fellow-feeling for 
me, in all my trials and sorrows and temptations. And 
it is to the assurance of the text on this point that I 
now invite your attention. Our remaining topic is, the 
sympathy of this " High Priest of our profession/' 

I wish I had time to speak generally of the influence 
of sympathy. All have felt its mysterious power, but 
none of us, perhaps, have considered how universally it 
is the primal law of this planet. Look where w r e will 
through the physical creation, we see all things sus- 
tained and bound by mysterious affinities. From the 
solar system, down to the minutest grain of dust, every 
particle of matter obeys certain laws of attraction and 
cohesion. When we come to the human family, we find 



200 THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 

bein tided from a common parentage, and whose 

happiness and power over each other depend greatly 
upon sympathy. 

I say their happiness, nor will any one question this. 
You cannot conceive any loneliness, poverty, desolation, 
so dreary as that of him who should be cut off from all 
sympathy. To my mind this is one of the most appal- 
ling elements in the misery of hell, that each will forever 
be too absorbed in his own wretchedness to listen to the 
wails of another. On the other hand, what balm like 
that which sympathy pours into the wounded heart ? It 
cannot restore the object of which we are bereaved, but 
it reaches and soothes the lacerated spirit. A pressure of 
the hand, a word, a tear, a look, how it falls in, like the 
clew of heaven, upon the parched and withered affections. 
The poorest and feeblest things of earth know not such 
times of need as man knows. From the moment when 
our eyes first meet those of a gentle mother, and our 
infant forms nestle m her bosom, to that in which the 
hand of friendship bathes our fevered foreheads, and 
moistens our dry and burning lips, and the accents of 
love whisper consolation to our spirits in the last wasting 
struggle, we are dependent upon kindness and sympathy. 

This is not all. It is, as I have said, in the depth 
and sincerity of our condolence with others, that we will 
find the secret of our most beneficent power over them. 
Acute and earnest sympathy is really wonderful in the 
delicate tact with which it finds access to every form of 
human suffering, and in the soothing mastery which it 
is sure to gain over it. Apply this remark, for example, 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 201 

to poverty, and our efforts for its relief. The outward 
privations of indigence are* sore, and ought to be sup- 
plied, but the great evils of penury are not. physical ; they 
are moral, and silver and gold cannot remove these evils. 
The truest benefactor of the poor is he who visits them, 
and sympathizes with them, and prays and weeps with 
them, and thus ministers to wants profounder than those 
of the body. The word charity is grossly misapplied to 
the mere giving of "so much money ; because, whatever 
the sum, there may be nothing authentic from the heart. 
Indeed, liberal contributions may be made with so much 
coldness, with such insolence of condescension, that they 
only aggravate the unhappy influences of poverty, by 
wounding and mortifying those whose condition has 
already almost destroyed self-respect. True " charity is 
kind/' It will be touched by the necessities' of the body, 
but it will penetrate beneath superficial sufferings, min- 
istering to the diseased mind, healing the bruised spirit, 
and binding up the broken heart. 

And the truth I am now saying applies equally to 
another duty, I mean sympathy with the erring. My 
brethren, the bitter denunciations often against the 
Church of Eome, even if they were not unchristian, 
are a very great mistake. These heresies could not be 
so deeply rooted, were -they not half truths ; and they 
must be exposed and refuted, not by abuse, but by 
tracing them to their origin, and bringing out more 
fully in our Protestantisnl those doctrines of which they 
are corruptions. We are unmeasured in our condemna- 
tion of the confessional ; and it merits the sternest re- 



2 2 THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST, 

bukea But this m< = at engine of superstiti 

power to the influence of sympathy. He 

knows nothing of himself, who believes that the peni- 

ided with a sense of sin. desires absolution only 

I he may outer upon a fresh career of iniquity. Such 
libels only excite the indignation of. thousands, and con- 
firm them in their blind devotion. No, no. man wishes 
- cause he is thus relieved of a load upon 
his conscience, and because from human condolence he 
recovers self-respect and' hope. By confession he has 
been true to his conscience, falsehood is no longer added 
to his crime. 

So powerful is this principle in our nature, that hard- 
ened and abandoned criminals find unspeakable conso- 
lation in depositing their dreadful secret with one who . 
can condole with them. And this sympathy has a 
place in the economy of the gospel which we strangely 
overlook." " Confess your faults one to another, and 
pray one for another, that ye may be healed." " Brethren, 
if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual 
restore such a one in the spirit of meekness ; considering 
thyself lest thou also be tempted. Bear ye one another's 
burdens and so fulfil the law of Christ." These pas- 
sages recognize and sanctify the power of sympathy to 
heal wounds which might have proved fatal, to free the 
spirit from a load under which it might have broken 
down. Not that we can remove the consciousness oi 
guilt ; this is a man's :, 'own burden," which, after all, 
must remain, and which, as the Apostle adds, " Every 
man must bear '" but the heart can be lightened and 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 203 

discharged of a load of remorse which pressed heavily 
upon it. The ritual of superstition calls this " absolu- 
tion/' and vests this right in a priest ; but it is a power 
which Go I has delegated to every human heart ; and 
whenever a father receives a penitent prodigal to his 
arms, whenever a mother takes back and presses to her 
bosom a repentant daughter, then, call it what you will, 
a power is put forth, humbling indeed, but most eleva- 
ting — bowing clown the soul in ingenuous shame and 
sorrow, but inspiring consolation and peace and strength. 
In the exercise of this power every Christian is a priest, 
" who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on 
them who are out of the way, for that he himself also is 
compassed with infirmity." 

I did not intend, however, to dwell so long, upon 
sympathy in general. It is of the sympathy of Jesus 
the text speaks. " We have not a High Priest who can- 
not be touched with a feeling of our infirmities." He 
can be touched, he is touched. What unspeakable con- 
solation in this assurance. 

This sympathy of Christ is far more deep and tender 
than that of the dearest earthly friend, because his, is a 
perfect humanity. " Such a High Priest became us who 
is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." 
At first, this remark may surprise you ; you perhaps 
think that this perfection must separate him from us, 
and are ready to say, how can he enter into our trials 
and temptations ? A moment's reflection, however,.will 
convince you that I am right in what I have said. 

Look around you, do you find the strongest, truest, 



THE SYMPATHIZING IIIGH PRIEST. 

ten I apathy for human sorrow and frailty among 

those who are depraved and abandoned ? No. They 
are hardened. They seem even to find comfort when 
others fall into the same abyss with themselves. ■ Who 
were the 'accusers of the adultress brought to Jesus ? 
To have seen their looks of horror, and heard their de- 
mands for summary punishment, you would have sup- 
posed them all saints ; but when Jesus said, " Let him 
who is innocent cast the first stone/' they all shrank 
and skulked away abashed and self-convicted. What 
extenuations there may have been, what arts of the se- 
ducer, what suddenness, or violence, or insidiousness of 
temptation, they asked not, and cared not. She must 
die. In all that multitude there was but one holy being, 
and he alone was touched with compassion for her. And 
you at once recall another case. You remember how the 
Pharisee spurned the woman who stood in his house 
weeping, and the tenderness with which Jesus took her 
part, touched by her penitence and tears. 

The sincerest pity and sympathy are ever found 
among the purest of our race. They w T eep with them 
that weep, and rejoice with them that rejoice. Now 
carry this truth up to the perfect humanity of Christ. 
" The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that 
which was lost." As " the Son of God/' he created all 
things, but in .saving the lost he is " the Son of Man/' 
in close affinity with all our nature, intensely human, 
and his sensibilities have never been deadened by evil. 
He alone, too, sees what sin is, and what sin has done, 
blighting the fair creation which came in such beauty 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 205 

from liis hands, and marring all our holiness and hap- 
piness. It was the perfection of his humanity which 
mysteriously drew to him, while upon earth, the poor 
and despised and lost. However outcast from human 
sympathy, they were conscious of. fibres which still 
bound them to him. And it is this which still makes 
a merciful High Priest touched with our sins and mis- 
eries." 

This sympathy of Christ is from actual experience. 
Here again you are startled, for how can his experience 
correspond with ours ? Such, however, is the inspired 
declaration. "For it became him, for whom are all 
things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many 
sons unto gloiy, to make the Captain of their salvation 
perfect through sufferings/' We have said that, by his 
preternatural birth, and in all his life, he was innocent ; 
but innocence is not perfection ; it differs from perfec- 
tion as manhood from infancy ; and the humanity of 
Jesus reached its perfection through trials, and sorrows, 
and sufferings, and sore temptations. The sorrows and 
sufferirgs we. understand ; and you feel that, by sharing 
these, he can have a fellow feeling, for he thus comes 
home to our homes and hearts. A king, not satisfied 
with conferring favors on his subjects, leaves his throne 
for a season, and dwells among them, that, on his re- 
turn, they may be assured he can feel for them and will 
succor them. "In all things it behooved him to be 
made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merci- 
ful and faithful High Priest/' 

But our temptations — can he sympathize with us in 



206 THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH TRIEST. 

- 1 ? Certainly. "For in that he himself hath 
Buffered, being* tempted, he is able to succor them that 
are tempted.' 1 My friends, temptation is not sin. Jesus 
" was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin/' 

11 Evil iuto the mind of G-od or man 
May come and go, so unapproved, and leave 
No spot or blame behind." 

Nay, temptation is the conflict, and it is by triumph 
in that conflict that strength and sanctity are proved. 
Becollect, that the life of Jesus upon earth was a Tiu- 
man life. All the devices of the tempter w r ere exhausted 
upon him. We may, therefore, appeal to his own ex- 
perience. We may say, 0, Saviour, Kecleemer, thou 
knowest, even to thy perfect humanity how fearful was 
the ordeal. Think then upon us in compassion, and de- 
stroy us not, but turn away thine anger from us. Ee- 
member, " that we are but flesh, a wind that passeth 
away, and returneth not again/' 

I will only add, that the sympathy of Jesus is uni- 
versal and effectual. Men are walled off from each other 
by nationalities, by ranks and conditions, by gradations 
of intellect, character, refinement, by social and domes- 
tic circles, by distances of space, and disproportions of 
disposition. They do not, therefore, touch each other. 
In large cities, especially, a great gulf separates differ- 
ent classes from each oth^r. One Man hath stood upon 
this earth, whose sympathy knew no bounds, who was a 
brother to every human being. Never did poverty and 
.misery know such compassion as his. No guilt or de- 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 207 

gradation could dry up the fountains of his tenderness. 
And he could, and did, and does, feel for the rich and 
noble and refined, who* affect to be independent, but who 
often need sympathy more than the indigent and obscure. 
And this sympathy is effectual. Precious and sooth- 
ing as is human sympathy, it must be imperfect. " The 
heart knoweth its own bitterness." 

11 "Nor even the tenderest heart, and next our own, 
Knows half the reasons why we smile or sigh." 

It cannot pluck a rooted sorrow from the mind, nor 
deliver the conscience from sin, nor reach us in the soli- 
tary process of dying, nor penetrate the darkness and 
dreariness of the tomb. How different the sympathy of 
Christ. The Christian knows its power in giving beauty 
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment 
of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; he has felt its effi- 
cacy in cleansing the soul from all sin. In the chamber 
of death what ineffable peace and consolation can it not 
diffuse ? And still more precious and blessed will it be 
in the day of judgment. The Judge will be the same 
Jesus who once bore our sins ; " the Son of man" — the 
same compassionate Eedeemer — knowing all the trials, 
weaknesses, temptations of his people — dispelling the 
conscious unworthiness which causes them to exclaim, 
" Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or sick, Or in 
prison, and ministered unto thee ?" — rewarding their 
feeblest acts of loyalty, and saying, " Come, ye blessed 
of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from 
the foundation of the world." 



208 THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 

III. The sympathy of Christ is a subject so "dear to 
me. that I could dwell on it forever. It must be dear 
to every child of God, for it is through suffering we are 

to be made perfect. .The statue seems perfect to the 
spectators, but the artist still smites it again and again. 
His eye detects blemishes which others see not, his ex- 
quisite taste conceives a symmetry and beauty which 
others know not. Thus it is with the holiest Christian; 
he must still expect affliction through life ; and, when ' 
stricken and bruised, how unspeakably strengthening 
and consoling the sympathy of his Eedeemer ! But I 
have already consumed more than the hour allotted to 
these discourses, and must hasten to a conclusion. Nor 
can I finish more suitably, than with the exhortation of 
the text, " Let us come boldly'unto the throne of grace, * 
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in 
time of need/' 

My brethren, Jesus not only was, but is still, a man. 
Not only was he touched, but he is still touched — 
touched in the very core of his heart — with a feeling of 
our infirmities, and sorrows, and trials, and temptations. 
Therefore let us come boldly unto the throne of grace. 
It is in thus approaching God through this new and 
living way that the Christian is entirely unlike all other 
men. In this view, he scarcely differs more widely from 
the Mohammedan and Brahmin, than he does from the 
moralist, the formalist, and sacramentalist. What joy, 
what assurance, what exultation, does he not find in the 
priesthood and sympathy of Christ ; while others either 
vainly seek peace in vague hopes of mercy, or in their 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 209 

own works, in rites and ceremonies — or stand aloof from 
God ; regarding him as a stern, inexorable judge. 

Never, until we have clear and spiritual apprehen- 
sions of this subject, can we rise above all doubts and 
fears, and rejoice in full assurance of faith. But clear 
views here will inspire a confidence and joy unspeakable 
and full of glory. And with reason. For what can the 
soul desire, which it does not possess in Jesus him- 
self ? It has a prophet to enlighten, a priest to make 
atonement and intercession, and a king to subdue all its 
corruptions and establish within it an empire of purity 
and love. And, then, what can the soul crave which it 
does not receive from Jesus ? The text assures us of 
"mercy and grace ;" what blessings these ! "Mercy" — 
this word has reference to human misery, the misery 
which sin hath brought us all." And all a"re invited to 
" come boldly and obtain mercy" — to come knowing 
that there is abundant mercy, to come assured that this 
mercy is for them though unworthy of it, to come as- 
sured that the great High Priest is touched by their 
wretchedness, and will delight in extending mercy to 
them. " Mercy," free, rich, pardoning, saving mercy. 

u And grace to help in time of need ;" this promise 
is for human weakness, and is united in the text with 
"mercy." We sympathize, we are satisfied with the 
penitence of an erring brother ; but our hearts sink as 
we remember how often before he has repented only to 
fall again. "We cannot impart strength to sustain him 
in the hour of temptation. Christ, however, can bestow 
grace sufficient for all weakness, " grace to help in time 



210 THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH TRIEST. 

of need" — grace to deliver in time of temptation — grace 
to revive in time of declension — grace to cheer in time of 
depression — grace to restrain in time of prosperity — grace 
to comfort in time of affliction — grace to animate in 
time of sacrifice and duty — grace to support in time of 
sickness — grace to fill us with serene, triumphant conso- 
lation and joy in time of death. 

By this compassionate High Priest all may come, 
and obtain this mercy and find this grace. God invites 
you to come ; " the Spirit and the Bride say, come ; and 
let him that heareth say, come ;" and let him that is 
condemned and ruined and helpless, come ; and whoso- 
ever will, let him come — come boldly, come freely, come 
just as he is, and come now. For I testify unto every 
man that heareth me this day, that, without this Media- 
tor and Intercessor, none ean approach God in this life 
either for mercy or grace ; and that hereafter we must 
be forever banished from " the presence of the Lord and 
from the glory of his power/' The language of Jehovah 
to every child of Adam is that of Joseph to his brethren, 
" Ye shall not see my face except your brother be' with 
you." 

Christians, beloved brethren, let us "consider the 
Apostle and High Priest of our profession/' Consider 
him ; contemplate him habitually as " touched" with all 
your griefs, and you will exclaim with the Psalmist, 
"Thy gentleness hath made me great ;" you wdll rejoice 
in a confidence which nothing can shake. And let the 
thought of his love and the great salvation he hath 
wrought inspire a loyalty which shall cause us to feel 



THE SYMPATHIZING HIGH PRIEST. 211 

that we are not our own, that we have been bought 
with a price. Here, Christian, is the whole of your 
theology, your confession of faith, your perfect body of 
divinity — I have a High Priest, a Friend and Mediator, 
who has undertaken for me, whose almighty power and 
unchangeable love are engaged to care for me, and teach 
me, and sanctify me, and save me. My whole duty is, 
to consecrate myself unreservedly to Him — to ask daily, 
"Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" — to devote 
wealth, talents, influence, time, health, life, to him who 
died that I may obtain mercy, and who rose again and 
ever liveth to make intercession, that I may now find 
grace to help in every time of need, and that when times 
of need are all past, I may find an eternity of bliss — grace 
may be consummated in glory. 



SERMON VIII. 

THE IX S AXE RICH MAN. 

u So is he that lajeth up treasure for himself and is not rich tovrard 
God."— Luke, xii. 21. 

p 

My brethren, if the busy stir and activity around us 
were for a subsistence, it would not be necessary that a 
preacher should select such a text as this ; nor, indeed, 
would the Saviour have uttered this parable. But, in 
fact, a very small part of this hum and bustle, this hust- 
ling and jostling, is for a competency. It is the absorb- 
ing love of monev. it is the insane lust of accumulation, 
above all — in this country, where everybody is crying out 
"equality \ !) and everybody dreading nothing so much 
as equality — it is the eager strife of social rivalry which 
is driving on the machinery, and keeping in an eternal 
whirl all this restless and articulate vitality. 

" Give us this day our daily bread '" what a lesson of 
moderation and contentment in that petition. I doubt 
if there be a single individual in the world, or the church, 
who offers this prayer sincerely ; how different the prayer, 
the vernacular and almost universal prayer, uttered day 
and night in the conduct of men. 

The passage just read is taken from a parable with 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 213 

which you are all familiar. We cannot read it without 
exclaiming with the Psalmist, " Lo this is the man that 
made not God his strength, but trusted in the abundance 
of his riches." Our text' is the general improvement 
which Jesus makes of the parable, applying it to all ages 
and to us. " So is he that layeth up treasure for himself 
and is not rich toward God." " So is he" — so insane — 
so restless and unhappy — so ruined. Let us resume these 
thoughts. 

I. " So is he ;" so insane. The conduct marked here 
is not simply folly ; the word translated "fool," means 
madman. The case is one of real insanity ; the man be- 
fore us is a confirmed moral lunatic ; and if he be not in 
an asylum, it is simply because the people around him 
are as infatuated and deranged as himself. 

Do not misunderstand me. Do not class me with 
those fanatics who condemn thrift, and shrewdness, and 
industry. I would have Christians the wisest and most 
industrious men in the city and country, the most ju- 
dicious and successful merchants, and mechanics, and 
farmers. Nor is it wrong to desire to accumulate wealth. 
The parable points no censure against these things. Piety 
is not so much the performance of actions strictly spir- 
itual, as the having spiritual motives in all our actions. 
Care and diligence in a proper vocation are as much re- 
ligious duties as prayer and reading the word of God. 
"Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit* ; serving the 
Lord." 

Nor must you place me among those cynics who re- 
gard it as sinful to enjoy the possessions which God has 



21-1 THE INSANE RICH MAN. 

a us, or to live in a style suitable to our means. 
" Charge them that are rich in this world, that they he 
not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the 
living God who givcth us richly all things to enjoy." 

The insanity in the text is neither the desire to have 
nor to enjoy wealth, but it is the absorbing possession of 
the mind by a single engrossing passion which monopo- 
lizes every thought, and shuts out other objects, even the 
most noble and important. It is a monomania, that 
type of madness in which a man reasons justly on all 
other subjects, but as .to one is wholly under the influ- 
ence of a diseased imagination, which inflames his heart 
and stultifies his intellect. 

I will explain myself; and, for this purpose, I ask 
you to look at this rich man, and see, in the first place, 
how one single thought haunts him everywhere, and at 
all times ; how one lust so engrosses his very being, 
that he sees nothing but with the eyes of this passion, 
and does nothing but at the insatiable cravings of this 
passion. He is literally beside himself, he forgets him- 
self — his nature and condition — and talks, and reasons, 
and acts like an incurable lunatic. 

This man, my brethren — this man who lives, and 
moves, and thinks only for money — this man is an im- 
mortal being. Not only may this man be wrenched away 
to-morrow from these possessions on which he dotes, but 
when his farms and fields, when all silver and gold, when 
the earth and all its treasures, shall be consumed, when 
the last aged star shall have sunk fatigued and expiring 
in the west, when the sun shall have been quenched — 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 215 

then will this man survive ; and through all the accu- 
mulating ages of eternity he will live, in ever-increasing 
blessedness or ever-deepening misery. 

Does this man recognize his immortality ? Is he 
living with reference to his eternal duration ? Far from 
it. He is intent only on his " goods ;" his toils by day, 
his anxious thoughts on his bed by night, are about his 
" goods ;" his plans and schemes all terminate upon his 
"goods." His "goods" are his sole present occupation, 
his be-all and end-all ; — and how to invest them to the 
best advantage is his only anxiety for the future. The 
world and its concerns, this brief life and its relations, 
how to "bestow his goods," how to "pull down and 
build greater" — all the aspirations in this man's bosom 
are rounded by these cares, all his ambition is concen- 
trated in these grovelling pursuits. Enter into this 
thought, and tell me now, if this is a rational man, if 
it be not a case of unmistakeable insanity ? 

Take another thought. Reflect on the brevity and 
uncertainty of human life.- That the rich, as well as 
the poor, may die at any moment, that, at farthest, life 
can be only a few years — these are, of all truths, the 
most certain. 

" With noiseless step death steals on man, 
No plea, no prayer delivers him. 
From the midst of life's unfinished plan, 
With sudden grasp it severs him. 
And, ready, or not ready, no delay, 
Forth to his Judge's bar he must away." 

But hear this man, listen to this idiot. " Thou hast 



216 THE INSANE RICH MAN. 

much goods laid up for many years." Much of his life 
has gone already. Many of his early associates have 
passed away ; and, standing over their graves, he has 
been compelled, again and again, to anticipate the voice 
of God which is soon going to strike him from heaven ; 
he lias been forced to say to himself, " Fool that I am, 
my turn will come next, my grave will open to-morrow, 
how is it, then, that I have allowed the cares of the 
world and the cleceitfulness of riches to banish this 
solemn truth from my mind ?" This lucid interval, 
however, is very short. Scarcely does he leave the 
church-yard, before Mammon pounces on his prey, and 
reasserts and resumes his dominion. He relapses into 
his old mania, and engages in projects and speculations 
which make sure of many years to come, and in which, 
perhaps, his ardor is not only not cooled by the loud 
warning just received, but is inflamed by new opportu- 
nities and advantages opened to his avarice by this 
death. 

Of all exhortations, those are most fruitless which 
remind man of his mortality. " Oh, that they were 
wise, that they understood this, that' they would con- 
sider their latter end \" — such is God's expostulation ; 
but men justify their want of consideration on this sub- 
ject ; nay, they go much farther, and seek to make God 
accessory to the very infatuation of which he complains. 
" If the shortness and uncertainty of life were ever be- 
fore us/' say they, " we would be unfitted for our du- 
ties ; all our energies would be paralysed if we were 
always revolving these gloomy images ; God has, there- 



THE INSANE EICH MAN. 217 

fore, wisely so constituted us that, though death is every- 
where, we never think of death/' 

We every day hear this language, even in the con- 
versation of sensible people ; but is it necessary to ex- 
pose its folly ? What, God who bids us live every hour 
in readiness for death, this God has so formed us * that 
w^e must forget we are to die ! God has so formed may, 
that the business, the duties of life, cannot be discharged 
unless the intellect be blinded by the plainest, grossest, 
most fatal illusion ! Very different was the view of 
Moses — that model of devotion to God and to the most 
arduous duties of life — his earnest prayer was, " So 
teach us to number our days that we may apply our 
hearts unto wisdom/' Were we mindful of the short- 
ness and uncertainty of life, we would not only be truly 
wise for the life that a is to come/' but for " the life that 
now is ;" for we would so use the world as not abusing 
it ; we would learn in whatever state we are therewith 
to be content ; prosperity would be disarmed of its dan- 
gers, and adversity of its stings. The second symptom 
of insanity in this rich man is, that he so numbers his 
days as to apply his heart unto folly — speaking and 
acting as if he could lay up, not only his harvest, but a 
store of years, in his granary. 

A third and still more* glaring proof of " madness in 
the heart" of this rich man, is the material estimate, the 
purely money value> which he puts upon everything, 
even upon his soul. The most sane man may some- 
times express himself incoherently in conversation, but 
the parable lets us into the deep recesses of this man's 

10 



218 TIIE INSANE RICH MAN. 

mind, his most serious deliberations, and what arc they ? 
Listen. "I will say to my soul" — his soul; ah, well, 
good ; he is not an infidel then ; he knows that he is 
not all matter, that he has a soul. And he will com- 
mune with his soul. "I will say to my soul" — -" will 
say" what ? " I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast 
much goods laid up for many years." This is better 
still. The profoundest, most essential necessities of our 
nature are those of the soul. The multitude overlook 
their spiritual wants ; this man, however, not, only 
recognizes them, but makes provision to supply them. 
" Thou hast much goods laid up for many years." 
Well, and what now ? " Take thine ease, eat, drink, 
and be merry." What a conclusion ! what shall we say 
to this ? It is, then, with grain gathered into his barn, 
he is going to nourish his soul ; it is with the coarse 
gratifications of the senses and appetites that his spirit- 
ual, immortal essence is to be satisfied. Well does God 
say, " Thou fool ;" for the absurdity here betrays down- 
right idiocy. Degraded as w r ere the Jews, they wept for 
shame when the Ammonites insulted them, by propos- 
ing to "thrust out their right eyes, and lay them for a 
reproach upon all Israel." The demented slaves of 
Mammon put*out both eyes at his bidding. 

But I have not yet done with the insanity of this 
worldling. Thus far we have only noticed his strange 
hallucination as to himself, his nature and condition. 
Man's highest, noblest relations, however, are to God; and 
it is when we consider these relations, that the disorder 
of this man's mind and heart appears most lamentable. 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 219 

Here, indeed, is the emphasis of the parable. Every 
train of serious reflection conducts us to God. It is u in 
his heart" that the fool says, " There is no God/' The 
most deplorable evidence of the depraving power of sin 
over the intellect is the perversity which excludes from 
all our thoughts Him to whom every rational thought 
must lead, Him "in whom we live, and move, and have 
our being." " Covetousness is idolatry ;" and so mad 
upon his idol is this man, that he not only misinterprets 
his own nature, but entirely forgets that there is a God 
to whom he is accountable. 

" So is he that layeth up treasure for himself ;" 
treasure for himself. All the aims and purposes of this 
owner of broad lands centre in himself, nor need we go 
far to find the original of this portrait. Select any one 
of the busy throng you see in the world, (I had almost 
said, I blush to own it, in the church ;) observe his con- 
duct, penetrate his bosom, what are all his thoughts and 
wishes but a constant repetition of these words, myself, 
myself ? God has endowed you, my friend, with noble 
gifts and faculties, how are, you employing them ? for 
his glory ? the advancement of truth ? the salvation of 
the lost ? " No, for myself, my own interest and aggran- 
dizement/' God has confided wealth into your hands ; 
to what purposes are you applying this wealth ? Are 
you exemplifying that charity which "seeketh not its 
own ?" Are you ready to distribute ? Are you consid- 
ering the poor and sustaining the enterprises of the 
gospel ? " No, I am spending this wealth for myself ; 
to pamper my passions, and gratify my tastes/' What 



220 THE INSANE RICH MAN. 

precious talents are time, and learning and influence ; 
and these are yours. Will you not consecrate them to 
the cause of benevolence ? to the best interests of suffer- 
ing humanity ? " No, no, myself, myself — it is for my- 
self I am living ; for myself I am planning and toiling ; 
for myself I rise up early, and sit up late, and eat the 
bread of sorrow. To be rich for myself, this is all my 
care, my labor, my ambition/' 

" For himself"' — all for himself ; and, of course, 
nothing for God. God is shut out of his mind. When 
Hoffman, the poet, was about to die, he closed his eyes 
and said, " Now I must think of God alone/' This 
avaricious hoarder will soon have to think of God alone, 
and to think very seriously of him ; and then what " will 
his riches profit him in the day of wrath ?" how price- 
less will then appear the true riches. " Eich toward 
God" — ah, my brethren, how much in these words. 
Eich in the estimation of Him to whom all worlds, stars, 
suns, are but dust, the small dust with which the pave- 
ment under his feet is powdered ; rich in the possession 
of that which God regards as real wealth. u Ye know 
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ-, that, though he was « 
rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through 
his poverty, might be made rich" — opulence purchased 
at such a cost — " not with corruptible things as silver 
and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ"-— to be 
enriched with these spiritual, celestial treasures, and en- 
riched forever — to be " heirs of God and joint heirs with 
Christ"— this, this is to be " rich toward God." What 
holy avarice ought to inflame our hearts, when such 






THE INSANE RICH MAN. 221 

riches are proposed to us. But the debased, drivelling 
spirit of this fool renounces all this affluence, bartering it 
for coffers which mock his deepest, most essential wants 
now, and will leave him a bankrupt for eternity. 

I had marked other phases of the moral insanity de- 
scribed in this parable, but I can only notice one more. 
In losing sight of God and his soul, this monomaniac 
has lost sight of the purpose and end of life, he has 
missed entirely the object of his creation. 

What, indeed, is the happiness he promises himself? 
It is indolence, feasting, mirth, riotous living. " Take 
thine ease, eat, drink and be merry" — this is all he pro- 
poses, all his wealth can secure. And is this all for 
which he was created ? Is man made in the image of 
God, that he may "take his ease, eat, drink, and be 
merry ?" Is it for this that he is ennobled with those 
glorious gifts which place him only a " little lower than 
the angels ?" Is this the happiness for which God has 
formed such a being ? 

Not only his enjoyment. His work, his employ- 
ment, his ambition, what ^are these ? "I will pull 
down my barns and build greater." His hands can find 
nothing more important to do, his intellect nothing more 
noble to design, his heart nothing more worthy of its 
loftiest aspirations. And what are we to say to this ? 
Oh, consider this temper with reference to the destiny 
which the gospel -sets before us ; to know Gocl, to love 
God, to commune with God, to resemble God, to dwell 
with God forever. Consider this temper with reference 
to the magnificent truths which the gospel reveals to us 5 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 

those adorable mysteries and wonders of grace and love 
which " the angels desire to look into." In a word, how 
sublime, how elevating the duties of the gospel. Reli- 
gion, my brethren, is sympathy with the government of 
God ; it is cooperation with all holy intelligences through- 
out the universe in the great enterprises of boundless and 
amazing love ; and man, says Jesus, lives, only as he 
loses the life of selfishness, to find his true life in thus 
working together with the Father who " worketh hith- 
erto." But to have no time, no heart, for these soul-in- 
spiring objects ; 'to say " This will I do — this is the great 
business of my existence — this is my highest aim — let 
others know God, and commune with God, and cooper- ' 
ate with God, and rejoice in the magnificent revelations 
of the gospel— I have not a wish or thought for such 
things — this is all I care for, this will L do — I will pull 
down my barns and build greater and there will I bestow 
my goods" — such low, reversed ambition, such egotism 
run mad, such suicidal selfishness, such concentration of 
degeneracy — what shall we say to this? Why better 
far that God had made a tree, or a stone, which would 
have answered the ends of its creation, rather than this 
man — thus distinguished and blessed, but thus perfidi- 
ous to his Creator — thus recreant to his own nature — 
thus utterly lost to all reason, to all sense of his dignity 
and duty. SO IS HE — so insane. This is our first 
article. • 

II. But the folly and madness of this rich man are 
not the only things which the parable illustrates. His 
disquietude and trouble are also most strikingly por- 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 223 

trayed. SO IS HE ; so restless and unhappy. This 
is our next topic. 

Now, that unjust gains, riches obtained by dishon- 
esty or extortion, should become a curse to their pos- 
, sessor, is not at all surprising. No such charge, however, 
is brought against this man. It is not said that he en- 
riched himself by exorbitant profits ; that he availed 
himself of the calamities of others to extort a barbarous 
interest ; nor that, rising from poverty to wealth, he was 
inflamed with pride and arrogance. Indeed, Jesus se- 
lects the most primitive, natural, and innocent method 
of acquiring riches. In speaking of his unhappiness, 
therefore, I say nothing of the accusations of conscience, 
or the abhorrence of society, or the vengeance of God 
which will pursue treachery and fraud. No voice from 
above, or from within, or from the virtuous around, 
cries, Thou usurer, thou extortioner, thou bloodsucker, 
thou knave, who hast abused the confidence of the un- 
suspecting, and despoiled the widow and orphan, and 
amassed a fortune by arts compared with which the open 
robbery of the highwaymen is almost respectable. 

This man's wealth is honestly his own, yet it not 
only does not confer happiness, but is really a source of 
cares for which the poor would pity him if they could 
look into his breast. It is this truth which I wish now 
to impress upon you. Nor, for this purpose, need I say 
anything. I have only to read the parable to you ; for 
there the great Master of the human heart sketches, 
with omniscient accuracy, a case which too many before 
me, must, I fear, feel to be their own. Oh, ye who are 



224 THE INSANE RICH MAX. 

losing your souls to gain this world, come here, and 
learn the value of the things for which you are making 
sueh a sacrifice. 

id he spake a parable unto them, saying, The 
ground of a rich man brought forth plentifully/' A rich 
man ; see his condition. He has already an ample for- 
tune. The pool* envy the rich ; to them the possession 
of wealth seems to be exemption from all trouble ; and 
were they but free from the pressing cares of their con- 
dition, they would at once attend to the interests of their 
souls. Hence when Jesus spake of the difficulty of sal- 
vation to those who have riches, the Apostles, who were 
poor, exclaimed, " "Who then can be saved ?" The rich 
know what the poor €annot know, that affluence does not 
give contentment ; and we learn from this parable what 
we see exemplified everywhere, that riches do not dispose 
the heart to piety. 

But this man is not only rich, he is also prosperous. 
The dread of poverty is often worse than poverty ; and 
those who are embarrassed persuade themselves that 
success would inspire gratitude, and crown them with 
felicity. We see here, however, that it is when riches 
increase men set their "hearts upon them" and forget 
everything else. 

Let us go on. "And he thought within himself, 
saying, What shall I do ?" Observe his perplexity. 
" He thought within himself/' I addressed you lately 
on those words of the Psalmist, " In the multitude of 
my thoughts w r ithin me, thy comforts delight my soul" 
— speaking of the reflections which sometimes oppress 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 225 

the Christian's mind, hut for which he finds delightful 
consolation in Jesus. It seems, from the case in hand, 
that others, beside the Christian, are distressed by a mul- 
titude of uneasy thoughts ; and what is the cause of this 
man's perplexity ? To see his anxious brow, to hear 
him, as he tosses on his couch, saying, " What shall I 
do ?" one would suppose that some calamity has over- 
taken him, some sudden loss, some disastrous reverse. 
No such thing. It is his very prdSperi'ty which drives 
sleep from his eyes and slumber from his eyelids. 

" On that night could not the king sleep ;" you recol- 
lect these words in the book of Esther. Beneath royal 
pavilions, and with all the appliances of luxury, there 
were troubles on the monarch's mind which held his eyes 
waking. Descending to common life, we all know how 
many lie down only to find thorns in their pillows, how 
many things cause men to pass- sleepless nights. One is 
racked with pain ; another tosses and turns with burn- 
ing fever ; the terrors of a guilty conscience banish sleep 
from a third ; a fourth waters his couch with tears flow- 
ing from a heart crushed by affliction ; while a fifth re- 
volves in despair the irretrievable ruin into which he has 
been plunged from the height of success. But here, in 
this parable, Jesus introducQS a man who is restless and 
sleepless from a cause which the imagination could never 
have suggested — from the cares and anxieties of pros- 
perity. " He thought within himself, saying, What shall 
I do ?" — " What shall I do," said the young ruler, "that 
I may inherit eternal life ?" — "What shall I do," cried 
the Philippian jailer, " that I may be saved ?" — " Men 

10* 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 

and brethren, what shall we do ?" exclaimed the peni- 

g on the day of Pentecost. Here is the same anxious, 

test question, but from what an enquirer. " What 

ill I do ?" cries this rich man, and why ? What is 

the matter? What aileth him? "What shall I do, 

because I have no room to bestow my fruits ?" 

" What shall I do ?» Well, and what will he do ? 
He is rich, he is prosperous, he "has more than heart 
could wish/' and hit great concern is to know what it is 
best for him to do. Let us now see what his determina- 
tion is. What he ought to do is plain*; he ought to be 
grateful to God ; he ought not to " trust in uncertain 
riches, but in the living God ;" he ought to abound in 
deeds of charity — " that they do good, that they be rich 
in good works, ready to distribute ;" he ought to watch 
and pray lest riches prove a fatal snare, lest, like another 
rich man, he have " his good things in his lifetime ;" he 
ought to tremble as he thinks " how hardly shall a rich 
man enter the kingdom of God ;" in fine, he ought to be 
"laying up in store for himself a good foundation against 
the time to come, that he may lay hold on eternal life" — 
making to himself " friends of the mammon of unridit- 
eousness, that when he dies they may receive him into 
everlasting habitations." This is what this man ought 
to do, this is what the Bible charges the rich to do, but 
the rich seldom consult the Bible on this or any other 
duty. 

The Bible apart, however, ought not common sense 
to instruct the rich ? ought not reason to cure a sane 
man of this restlessness and anxiety ? On a certain day, 



THE INSANE EICH MAN. 227 

says tliG historian, Pyrrhus the king/ elated by victory, 
was detailing to Cineas, his prime minister, all his pro- 
jected triumphs. " I will next conquer Sicily/' " What 
then ?" " Then I will subdue Africa." " 'What then ? 
"Then I will make myself master of Spain/' "Antl 
what then?" "Why then/' said the monarch, "we 
can take our ease and be happy/' " And why," re- 
plied Cineas, " why cannot we do that now ?" So 
with this rich man ; what happiness can wealth pur- 
chase, which he may not enjoy now ? 

But the admonitions of reason have as little influ- 
ence as those of conscience upon a man whose heart is 
debased by covetousness. Look where we will, we see 
this truth, that men are more intent on possessing than 
enjoying ; and when the desire to accumulate becomes 
the ruling passion, rest, contentment, all real happiness, 
are sacrificed to this monopolizing vice. Everybody tells 
you, indeed, that he wants only a competency ; but by 
a competency, everybody means a little more than he 
happens to have at present. A few have too much, 
many too little, but nobody was ever yet found who had 
just enough. Wonderful are the discoveries which 
have been made in former times, and especially in this 
age. Science has explored the earth, and fathomed the 
sea, and questioned the stars ; and height and depth 
have been rifled of their secrets. But there is one dis- 
covery which no genius, no learning has ever made, or 
will ever make ; it is, how much is exactly enough. 

Beturning from this digression, we find that this 
rich fool listens to the counsels neither of God nor of 



THE IXSAXE RICH MAN. 

>n : he hoars only the voice of his cupidity, and, 
after carefully debating in himself the question, " What 
shall I do ?" he says, " This will I do, I will pull down 
my barns and build greater/'' That is to say — trans- 
ferring this resolution to the city and its business — leav- 
ing the man in the parable, and coming to the man in 
this house — your avarice is sure to. increase with your 
prosperity : your successes only stimulate you to achieve 
greater success — causing you to adopt this very lan- 
guage, " I will pull down my barns and build greater/' 
I will enlarge my operations, I will increase my stock, I 
will add to my establishment, I will invest more capi- 
tal, and speculate more freely and profitably. 

My dear hearers, I appeal to yourselves, is not this 
too true ? Translated into commercial phraseology, is 
not the language of this rich fool yours in the day of 
prosperity ? And translated into words of soberness 
and experience, what does this language mean ? Shall 
I tell you — you whose minds are jaded d.own by cease- 
less cares and apprehensions ? It means this. I will 
increase my troubles ; I will multiply the sources of my 
anxiety ; I will convert my days into days of toil, 
drudgery, weariness, compared with which the healthful 
labor of the poor is a blessed immunity ; I will turn my 
nights'into nights of feverish solicitude, lest in the morn- 
ing I should find that some wreck at sea, some confla- 
gration, some tail in prices, some failure has not only dis- 
pelled my golden dreams, but involved my fortune, and 
tarnished my credit, if not my character. " SO IS 
HE" — so restless and unhappy. This is our second article. 



THE. INSANE RICH MAN. 229 

III. The last admonition which the Saviour designs 
to convey in this parable has reference to the fearful 
perils to* which wealth exposes the soul ; but this warn- 
ing is so constantly repeated in the Bible, that I need 
not dwell upon it. 

To this victim of avarice how terrible the summons 
which breaks in upon him. We have seen him sure of 
many years, planning and projecting for many years ; in his 
ears what a dreadful sound this which arrests him in the 
very midst of his schemes. "But God said unto him, 
Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, 
then whose shall those things be which thou hast pro- 
vided ?" 

A call so sudden, ah, Lord, how few of thy children 
live in habitual readiness for such a call. The holiest 
Christian shudders when he hears of a sudden death, for 
he instinctively feels, " What, if it had been I ;" and 
both Hezekiah and David turn their faces to the wall, 
and pray for some respite, that they may be prepared to 
meet their God. But to this man how fearful this sum- 
mons. At such a time — just when he has matured his 
plans ; " in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of 
man cometh." From what a quarter. " G-od said unto 
him f had God never spoken to him before ? Yes, of- 
ten ; by his word, by his Spirit, by conscience, in sick- 
ness and in health, in prosperity and adversity, in youth 
and in manhood. But all has been in vain. Long had 
Jesus stood knocking, trying every avenue to the heart, 
but that heart was full of the cares of this world, and 
the door was fast against him. Now, however, death 



TTTi: INSANE RICH MAX. 

and waits not to knock, but breaks .in at once. 

!1. BUch a demand. "Thy soul is required of 

Boul, the true wants, the destiny, t^e worth 

which he had overlooked while intent on "making 

i for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof;" that 

ties had been drowned by the clamors of the 

si us : that soul which is to live forever, but the sal- 
vation of which is not among the things " which he had 
provided" — what a requisition. What is all his wealth 
to him now ? " What will it profit a man if he gain the 
whole world and lose his own soul ? What will a man 
give in exchange for his soul ?" Gladly would he give 
all his possessions, but it is too late ; " the redemption 
of the soul is precious and it ceaseth forever." God 
strikes him in the zenith of his prosperity. The rich 
man dies and is buried, and in hell he lifts up his eyes, 
being in torment, and cries in vain for a drop of water 
to cool his parched tongue. 

Men and brethren, if Jesus, if the Holy Spirit, warn 
us most constantly, with the greatest variety of admo- 
nitions, and with the intensest emphasis, of any snares, 
they are the snares of wealth. It is impossible to exag- 
gerate the dangers which threaten the soul of him who is 
rich, especially if his riches axe increasing. Danger from 
the absorbing influence over the heart ; " where your 
treasure is, there will your heart be also ;" the prodigal 

on disgusted with sensual pleasures, but the love of 

v only becomes more deeply rooted and ^engrossing 

as other passions are destroyed by age ;. it is quickened 

and invigorated bv their ashes. Danger from the in- 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 231 

superable obstacles to conversion.; " he went away sor- 
rowful, for lie had. great possessions" — strange cause for 
sorrow, but never sorrow more reasonable. Danger, be- 
cause, with the possession of wealth, pride is almost in- 
variably insinuated into the heart ; "Charge them that 
are rich in this world that they be not high-minded m " 
where can we look without seeing men, once poor and 
humble, and bidding fair for heaven, but now rich, in- 
flated with self-importance, filled with ambitious thoughts 
for themselves and their families ; an ambition which 
changes not only their style of living, but their style of 
worshipping God — changes their church, changes "their 
preacher, changes their creed ; Mammon making a reve- 
lation, in the light of which truth is seen to be false- 
hood, and falsehood truth ; and thus Christ, and faith, 
and salvation are immolated, to pamper a contemptible 
vanity ? Danger from that utter selfishness which in- 
creasing wealth fosters ; " layeth up treasure for himself/' 
is elated with a feeling of independence ; cares nothing 
for others ; is occupied only with his own ease, and pleas- 
ure, and aggrandizement. 

I only add, that wealth develops, and fearfully stim- 
ulates, all those " fleshly lusts which war against the 
soul" — pampering the' passions — nourishing effeminacy 
and voluptuousness — flattering "the lusts of the fleSh, 
the lust of the eye, and the pride of life" — thus causing 
myriads to shrink from those self- denials which Jesus 
requires if we are to follow him — and causing thousands 
of professed Christians to draw back to perdition, to 
" fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish 



Till-: [NSANE RICH MAN. 

and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and 
perdition ; for the love of money is the root of all evil, 
which, while some coveted after, they have erred from 
the faith, and pierced themselves through with many 
sorrows." 

IV. But it is time to bring this discourse to a close/ 
Most of those over whom God has made me pastor are 
poor, at least far from being rich. In this church we 
find, with but few exceptions, the answer to that ques- 
tion of the Apostle, " Hath not God chosen the poor of 
this world, rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which 
he has promised to them that love him ?" And you 
may think, my brethren, that the lessons of this sermon 
have nothing to do with you ; but you make a great 
mistake ; there are warnings here for you, as well as for 
the rich. T-he Saviour's admonition is against the love 
of money, the desire to get money, seeking money and 
forgetting God, and this may be the sin of the poor, as 
well as the rich. 

The chief application of this parable to you, however, 
is in the consolations^ it contains. Are you poor, my 
brother ? Look at the case before us, and guard against 
the temptation into which the Psalmist fell. " But as 
for rue, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well 
nigh slipped ; for I was envious at the foolish, when I 
saw the prosperity of the wicked." Are you poor, my 
brother ? Understand the reason. " He that spared 
not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how 
shall he not, with Him, also freely give us all things ?" 
God knows, what you do not know by experience, and 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 233 

yet what your observation ought to teacli you, that it is 
"hard for a rich man to enter^the kingdom of heaven ;" 
and he sees that to a heart like yours, which even now is 
proud and worldly, the possession of affluence would be 
a fatal snare. In a word, you are poor. Well, remem- 
ber there was once One upon this earth much poorer 
than you are, and he knows how to sympathize with you. 
You are peculiarly dear to him. He says, " I know your 
poverty, but you are rich." " To the poor the gospel is 
preached/' The gospel secures to you treasures which 
make you "rich toward God," rich for all eternity. 

This parable addresses another class — a class who are 
wont to wink hard against the warnings of the pulpit. 
It speaks loudly and solemnly to those who are prosper- 
ing in business. It says to all such, " If riches increase, 
set not your heart upon them," " He that hasteth to be 
rich shall not be innocent," " They that will be rich fall 
into temptation and snares which drown men in perdi- 
tion." The context shows that the Saviour designed his 
admonition especially for this class ; and there, are none 
who need it so constantly ; none who, amidst their spec- 
ulations and calculations, ought so often to ponder that 
awful problem proposed by the Eedeemer as to the worth 
of the soul. 

A minister was one day sitting in the parlor of a 
hotel, where several young merchants were comparing. 
notes as to their respective gains and losses. Approach- 
ing them kindly, he said, " May I speak to you on a 
point to which neither of you has yet adverted ?" They 
at once assented. " My friends," he observed, "I have 



234 THE INSANE RICH. MAN. 

overheard your reckonings of profit and loss ; will you 
now consider this question, c What will it profit a man 
it' he gain the whole world and lose his own soul ?' " 
That admonition resulted in the conversion of- two of 
those young men ; may it be blessed to the conversion 
of those who hear me this day. Amidst the cares and 
anxieties and ceaseless urgencies and activities of busi- 
ness, revolve incessantly this question, What will it profit 
me if I gain the whole world and lose my own soul ? 
Write this solemn question in your ledgers, in your day- 
books, on the walls of your stores and counting-houses. 
Write it there ; for soon — it may be to-night — the hand 
of Gi-od will write it on the walls of your death-chamber. 
Lastly, Christians, my beloved brethren, this para- 
ble is for us also. For my own part, I have long since 
been convinced that the love of money is the most com- 
mon, insidious and fatal sin in the church. When we 
consult the sacred Oracles, we find scarcely 'any vice 
placed upon such an eminence of guilt and infamy. If 
Balaam seeks to ruin Israel, it is under the influence of 
covetousness. If Judas betrays, and Demas forsakes, 
Christ, it is through covetousness. We know how 
fiercely the anger of God burns against idolatry, "but 
covetousness is idolatry." In fine, the Scriptures every- 
where denounce this passion as the most deadly and 
prolific wickedness in the church as well as in the world. 
When, however, we consult the discipline of our churches, 
covetousness is no sin at all. If a professed Christian 
yields to intemperance, or licentiousness, or dishonesty, 
he forfeits his character, and the laws of the church ar- 
rest and perhaps save him. But he may be steeped in 



THE INSANE RICH MAN. 235 

covetousness, lie may be a by-word for covetousness, his 
standing is not impeached, and no rule of the church 
arraigns him. -It is, therefore, the more needful that I 
remind you of a crime, which is not the less heinous 
because concealed under specious names, of a peril only 
the more fatal because unsuspected. 

But let me not finish in this strain. No, my breth- 
ren, there is another use we should make of this para- 
ble. The Saviour contrasts the corruptible with the 
incorruptible riches. If the world seeks only to lay up 
treasures on earth, there are those who are coveting 
eternal riches. " He has transported his wealth to 
heaven, and has gone there to enjoy it" — such was the 
noble inscription upon the tomb of a rich man ; let us 
so live that this epitaph may be ours. Laying up treas- 
ures for ourselves — this Jesus pronounces the height of 
folly ; let us shun this folly. To be rich toward God — ' 
this he declares to be true wisdom ; let us be wise, let us 
be rich toward God. 

Hitherto I have been condemning: covetousness, and 
seeking to retrench its power ; but mow I would sanctify 
and. inflame that' passion ; I would excite in you a 
boundless avarice. Be rich ! Be rich ! such is the cry 
everywhere. In the market, in the wareroom, in the 
street, in the counting-house, the universal cry is, Be 
rich ! To-day I utter the same words in the sanctuary. 
Be rich ! but be rich toward God. Here is affluence 
worthy of all your toils, your cares, your sacrifices- — a 
treasure in the heavens that faileth not. " Thou say- 
est, I am rich and increased with goods, and have need 
of nothing ; and knowest not that thou art wretched, 



236 THE INSANE RICH MAN. 

and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I 
counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that 
thou mayest be rich." 

He who was rich became poor, that we, through his 
poverty, might be rich. In Him are unsearchable riches 
of grace and glory. Moses wisely " esteemed the re- 
proach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of 
Egypt." Let us receive this adorable Eedeemer by a 
faith which shall make all these infinite riches ours. 
Every human being is still either in " the first man" 
Adam, or in " the second man" Jesus ; and every human . 
being is, thus, either poor or rich, far beyond mortal 
conception. Let us be rich, rich by union with Christ. 
And let us live for this adorable Eedeemer ; and thus be, 
not only "rich in faith," but "rich in good works." 
Thus shall we be rich toward God ; rich, however poor — 
" as poor, yet making many rich — as having nothing, 
and yet possessing all things ;" rich, though all earthly 
possessions should fail ; rich now — " for all things are 
yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world, 
or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, 
all are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's ;" 
rich, above all, in that reversion as to which the Apostle 
says, " It d_oth not yet appear what we shall be, but we 
know we are the children of God, and if children, then 
heirs ; heirs of God and joint heirs 'with Christ" — heirs 
to glory, honor, and' immortality, to an exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory, " to an inheritance incorrupti- 
ble, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved for us 
in heaven." 



SERMON IX. 

THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

11 And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, 
while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the Scrip- 
tures ?" — Luke, xxiv. 32. 

Veky memorable were the six days of creation, but 
they were scarcely so memorable, so crowded with great 
events, as that week of which the narrative before us 
gives a closing hour or two. 

It is now the third day after the crucifixion. On the 
afternoon of that day two men leave Jerusalem, and 
take the path to Emmaus — a small village a few hours' 
walk from the city. They are not Apostles, but prob- 
ably of the seventy. One of them is Cleopas ; as to the 
other, there have been many speculations, but we know 
not his name. Instead, therefore, of wasting time in idle 
conjectures, put yourself in his place and proceed on the 
journey. It is spring, and parting day lingers along 
the summits and glades through which their road passes; 
but they heed not the beauty of the landscape. These 
two travellers are in earnest conversation, and every- 
thing about them — voice, countenance, gesture — shows 
that it is no ordinary topic which is absorbing their 



23S THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

minds. It is plain, too," that the subject which 'engages 
their thoughts has cast a gloom over them, for they 
neither laugh nor smile, but are greatly dejected. 

About midway between the city and village, these 
two disciples are overtaken by another traveller — a 
stranger who joins them and asks, " What manner of 
communications are these that they have one with 
another as they w r alk and are sad ?" At first this in- 
truder is most unwelcome, for theirs is a sorrow with 
which a stranger intermeddleth not ; and, besides, who 
know r s if he be not some spy, seeking to wind himself 
into their confidence that he may betray them. Such at 
first are their thoughts, but soon their feelings are en- 
tirely changed. Scarcely has this stranger began * to 
speak, before they are conscious that a spell is upon 
them. In his looks, his tones, there is something 
which immediately awes and fascinates them. They 
cease speaking. They hang upon his words with pal- 
pitating bosoms. He h£is probed the very source of their 
griefs. How he counsels them, and cheers their heart ; 
how hope begins to take the place of despondency ; how 
clear are the Scriptures as he unfolds them; how "fool- 
ish and slow of heart to believe had they been." This 
sympathy, this love, this tenderness, these glorious 
prophecies thus explained, cause their hearts to burn 
within them. Who is this stranger ? They cannot part 
from him. He must stay with them, that the night 
may be sjoent in such sweet discourses. " They con- 
strain him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward even- 
ing and the day is far spent." Nor does he refuse. He 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 239 

goes in to tarry with them but I will not detain 

you with the history ; it is familiar to you all. I have 
been reflecting on this walk to Eiximaus, and I now offer 
you one or two thoughts which have suggested them- 
selves to my mind. 

I. And, first — the first truth taught us by narrative 
— see here the importance of searching and understand- 
ing the Scriptures, and how a neglected or perverted 
Bible will bring sin and sorrow into the soul. "It is 
written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by 
every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God ; w 
and the Holy Spirit employs the most striking imagery, 
the most energetic admonitions and warnings; when 
speaking of the power and sublimity of the gospel. 
Indeed, my brethren, ought exhortations to be needed 
on such a subject ? A revelation from God — and a 
revelation to " make us wise unto salvation" — -does not 
every principle of our nature instinctively cry out, " 
earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord ?" With 
what meekness, with what reverence, with what devout 
submission, with what absorbing desire to know and 
obey the truth, ought not such a communication to be 
received. But what is the treatment which God's word 
has generally found among men ? Consult the past, and 
you read everywhere the melancholy record. The world 
has first hated and persecuted and murdered those who 
proclaimed the truth, and then has sought to murder 
the truth itself. Of Satan Jesus says, a He was a mur- 
derer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth" — ■ 
his first murder having been committed in Paradise, 



240 TIIE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

when lie perverted the truth into a lie. And when we 
turn from the world to the professed people of God, 
what is the fact ? Do they prize and study the Scrip- 
tures ? No, they neglect them, and hence their souls 
are impoverished : for it is God's ordinance that the 
soul, like the body, shall toil for its nourishment. In 
the economy of grace, even more universally and rigidly 
than in that of nature, the law is. that " if any will not 
work neither shall he eat/"' and this spiritual death is far 
more to be dreaded than any ••famine of bread or thirst 
for water/' 

In these two disciples, it is this criminal ignorance 
and misapprehension of the Scriptures which the Saviour 
condemns. " Then said he unto them. fools, and slow 
of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken.'"' 
The reproof is severe, but most just ; for into what pal- 
pable and mischievous errors had their blindness betrayed 
them. 

Then- anticipations of the Messiah and his reign, how 
gross and unscriptural. Every promise, every prophecy, 
predicted a spiritual deliverer. This was not- all. * These 
disciples had been with Jesus, and had been' taught by 
him. If the rest of the Jews could so strangely misin- 
terpret the sacred oracles as to expect a temporal sove- 
reign, they, at least, ought to have known better. And 
had they examined and comprehended Moses and the 
prophets, how much gloom and misery would they not 
have been spared. They would have seen that Jesus had 
fulfilled exactly " the things in all the Scriptures con- 
cerning himself' — that his sufferings and death, at which 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 241 

their faith staggered, were indispensable to his mission — 
that it behoved him " to have suffered these things and 
to enter into his glory/' But they were foolish and slow 
of heart to believe. And thus it still is. Christ cruci- 
fied is still an offence and foolishness to human pride, and 
prejudice, and ignorance. 

As the Scriptures, " the testimony of God/' are the 
only basis of faith, this fundamental error of the disci- 
ples, of course, casts ominous doubt and perplexity over 
all their spiritual perceptions, so that they cannot discern 
the plainest truths. 

These two Christians are sad as they walk, sorrow fills 
their hearts, and why? * What catastrophe has thus 
blighted their dearest hopes, and shed this dismal gloom 
into their hearts ? They mourn and weep, their souls 
are bowed down heavily because their Kedeemer has been 
crucified. " The chief priests and our rulers delivered 
him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him." 
Messiah ! crucified ! What things to be reconciled ! 
The hope and joy of Israel — the magnificent Saviour, in 
whom converged all the lights vouchsafed to patriarch 
and prophet, and all the promises which .had gladdened 
the earth, expiring on a cross ! — impossible. But had 
not the Psalmist declared that " the kings of the earth 
should set themselves, and the rulers should take counsel 
together against the Lord and against his Anointed ?" 
But had not Zechariah foretold that they should "weigh 
the pieces of silver," for which he should be betrayed ? 
But had not this prophet predicted that " the Shepherd 
should be smitten and the sheep be scattered ?" Had 

11 



242 THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

not the same prophet and David both described his death 
— that they should "pierce his hands and his feet," and 
should "look on him whom they had pierced ?" On the 
pages of Isaiah had not all his sufferings Jbeen foretold 
with the most minute accuracy ? In short, had not Je- 
sus himself often informed them that he came into the 
world to die upon the cross ? Could they have mistaken 
his meaning — especially the design^of the last supper, 
and his express assurance that he "must go up to Jeru- 
salem, and suffer many things of the elders, and chief 
priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the 
last clay ?" 

The rebuke of the Saviour was, therefore, merited. 
He might well upbraid them with their folly and unbe- 
lief in turning from such clear testimony, and preferring 
their own vain reasonings. " If he had been the Mes- 
siah he would not have submitted to such ignominy. Af- 
ter such a death how can we continue to hope ; for would 
he have suffered himself to be crucified, had he possessed 
the almighty power which his resurrection would require ? 
True, certain women had visited the tomb, and reported 
that it was empty, and that 'they had seen a vision of 
angels who said he was alive ;' but is this credible ? 
When Peter and John repaired to the sepulchre they 
had not seen these angels. In fine, it is now late in the 
day ; if he had risen, surely he would have appeared to 
us before this." Such are their thoughts, and with them, 
as with all who substitute their own judgments for God's 
word, gloom and despondency darken the very prospects 
which, to the eye of faith, are most bright and cheerful. 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 243 

Another deplorable fruit of blindness and unbelief is 
seen in the precipitancy of these disciples. For why had 
they left the city ? It is now the third day, and they 
have waited until afternoon ; why not wait a little 
longer ? A' few minutes more, and all their doubts and 
fears would have vanished, and their hope have been 
given back to them — for Mary had seen him, and he had 
appeared to Peter. Even while they were leaving the 
gate, these glad tidings were rejoicing the hearts of the 
Apostles, and soon reached all the disciples in Jerusalem. 
" It is good that a man should both hope and quietly 
wait for the salvation of the Lord." When the sisters 
of Lazarus sent for Jesus, he " abode two days still in 
the same place where he was ;" and this delay was for 
their good, as well as "for the glory .of God/' And so 
now the suspense in which the risen Jesus keeps his 
church is a wholesome discipline of their faith and pa- 
tience. But these two disciples are unbelieving and 
impatient ; their leaving the city and their conversation 
show that they are about to abandon the cause as hope- 
.less. 

And do not pass this thought, my friends, without 
that self-application which it demands. " He that be- 
lieveth shall not make haste ;" " though it tarry, wait 
for it ; because it will surely come, it will not tarry/' 
But how prone are we to murmur and pass hasty judg- 
ments on God's conduct. Few things should so humble 
and mortify us as this rash, mutinous spirit — so slow to 
confide — so quick to doubt, suspect, condemn ; this tem- 
per which impiously says, " I do well to be angry/' For, 



244 THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

my brethren, consider the disproportion between our 
minds and the divine mind ; think what proofs we have 
of God's wisdom and love ; consult your own experience, 
how often has that vindicated the goodness of God in 
dispensations at which your heart rose up in rebellion, 
■ how often has it compelled you to acknowledge that if 
you had been permitted to have your own way you must 
have been ruined ; above all, recollect that the time 
when everything shall be explained, when you shall 
know what you know not now — collect all these truths, 
and then tell me, is it not most presumptuous in us to 
decide as to God's dealings ? Does it not become us 
cheerfully to acquiesce, to wait and hope, to let patience 
have its perfect work, and, though we walk in darkness 
and have no light, still to trust in the name of the Lord, 
and stay upon our God. 

I will only mention one other effect of that want of 
faith which Jesus rebukes in these disciples, an effect to 
which I have already alluded. I mean the gloomy de- 
spair in which they are sunk, at a time when all should 
have been assurance and joy. In reality, instead of 
mourning and the spirit of heaviness, these disconsolate 
pilgrims should have put on the garments of praise, and 
anointed themselves with the oil of gladness. For sal- 
vation has been finished. ; the prophecies have been ful- 
filled ; the Redeemer has risen ; truth has triumphed 
over error ; a new era has dawned on the world — an era 
of glory, honor, immortality, unutterable blessedness ; 
the voice of rejoicing should now be in the tabernacles 
of the saints upon earth, as it is along the battlements 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 245 

of heaven, where the exulting anthem has already b^un, 
" Lift np your heads, ye gates, and be ye lifted up ye 
everlasting doors, and the King of Glory shall come 
in." 

But through the souls of these disciples unbelief has 
spread ; and, with it, darkness and despair. Certain 
women had, indeed, reported that the sepulchre was 
empty, and some of the Apostles had confirmed their 
testimony. This, however, could not restore their con- 
fidence ; for " Him they saw not/' and they would not 
believe unless they had the testimony of the senses. 
" We trusted"- — such is their mournful language — "that 
it had been he which should have redeemed Israel •" but 
now our trust is gone, faith is gone, hope is gone, all is 
wrapt in gloom ; God's providence is a dreary mystery, 
for innocence has been overwhelmed, and malice and 
cruelty are victorious ; salvation is a chimera, for he 
who was to save has expired upon the cross ; the prom- 
ises of the Bible are a delusion, for he who was to fulfil 
them lies in the tomb never to emerge. 

" We trusted ;" this unworthy and despairing lan- 
guage it is easy for us to condemn in Cleopas and his 
brother. " You trusted," we exclaim, " and why not 
Trust still ?" But, while censuring, how prone are we 
to imitate them, and to dishonor God by the very same 
temper ; how slow are we to believe the promises of 
Jesus, when our skies are darkened, when we are called 
to bury some cherished hope to which we had clung ; 
when it is our turn to pass through some cruel ordeal, 
and when Him we see not — cannot see on the left hand 



: . THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

whqpe he doth work, nor on the right hand where he 
hideth himself. 

/ trusted — but afflicted, tossed with tempest and not 
comforted, fightings without and fears within — rny cour- 
fails, my confidence is shaken. I trusted — but 
bowed under a sense of sin ; stung and blushing with 
the consciousness of corruption, I can no longer look up 
and believe myself a child of God ; "I shall never see 
that goodly mountain and Lebanon, I shall never see 
the King in his beauty, nor behold the land which is 
afar off/' / trusted — but my faith in truth, in Christ's 
promise, gives way, when I find error prospering on 
every side ; the wisdom and power of the earth enlisted 
in its behalf, and those who are loyal to Jesus strug- 
gling and often defeated in the unequal conflict. 

In short, my brethren, we too often suffer the same 
spirit which we condemn in these disciples to undermine 
that confidence in God's word which can alone inspire 
strength and heroism. They had never ceased to love. ■ 
Their whole conversation shows how dear Jesus was to 
their hearts. But, instead of consulting the Scriptures, 
they lean to their own understanding ; hence not only 
are the promises of no avail, but they will not be per- 
suaded, though the women declare that they had seefi. 
angels "who said he was alive/' And so with us. 
Vainly does every page of the Bible tell us that life 
must be a conflict, that in the world we must have 
tribulation. Vainly does our own experience, and that 
of all who are led by the Spirit, repeat this lesson ; we 
still prescribe to God ; we desire a life in which every- 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 247 

thing shall be according to our own wishes. And when 
mercifully thwarted and disappointed, we have hard 
thoughts of Him who watches over us ; we repine and 
murmur and cast off our confidence. While Jesus is 
with us, and all is bright, we can rejoice in him ; but 
when he hides himself, our faith can no longer cheer us. 
We trusted ; but now, instead of exclaiming, in the no- 
ble language of Job, "-though he- slay me, yet will . I 
trust him/' we " walk and are sad/' we abandon our- 
selves to a despondency which dishonors God and ener- 
vates all our spiritual energies. 

II. As these two disciples pursue their melancholy 
journey — the deepening shadows of evening a feeble tyjje 
of the gloom gathering on their souls — we have seen a 
third join them. Let us now turn our attention to this 
stranger. His fellow-travellers knew him not, but we 
know him. It is the same Being who entered the fur- 
nace with*the three Hebrews, and he is ever near his peo- 
ple "when they walk and are sad/' 

• I have said that we know not the name of one of 
these disciples. But the name of this wayfaring man 
we know. He is " The Wonderful/' Wonderful w r as 
he in the glory which he had with the Father before the 
w r orld was. Wonderful was he in his deep humiliation ; 
when "being in the form of God and. thinkyig it no 
robbery to be equal with God, he made himself of no 
reputation, but. took upon him the form of a servant, 
and was made in the likeness of men, and being found 
in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became 
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." But 



2-18 THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

he is. above all, wonderful now, as he stands upon the 
earth, a mighty conqueror returned from his expedition 

into the territories of the King of Terrors — having "by 
death destroyed death/' and become the resurrection and 
the life. He might have entered the city in regal pomp 
and equipage, with a retinue of angelic legions ; but he 
prefers to •enter these desolate hearts, and to awaken 
festive joy and triumphal acclamations there. It was 
" in the cool of the day"* that, in Paradise, he sought 
and consoled those who first sinned through unbelief ; 
and it is in the same calm hour that he now seeks and 
comforts these erring disciples. 

We know then who this mysterious Being is. And 
now, observing his conduct, we will find it full of instruc- 
tion for us. Is he not recognized by these disciples ? 
Well, it is just so with us ; sorrow and 'unbelief often 
cause our " eyes to be holden that we know him not," 
even when he is near to us. Then, his coming*is, at first, 
most unseasonable to these disciples ; is it not so with 
us ? When he comes to rebuke us for our folly and defec- 
tion, is he not an unwelcome visitor ? What does he as 
soon as he joins these disciples ? He penetrates at once 
into their hearts, he questions them as to their griefs. 
Did he not know the cause of their sadness ? Yes, but 
he will wake those he loves tell him all ; hence his ques- 
tion to Mary, " Woman, why weepest thou ?" and hence 
his enquiry now, " What manner of communications are 
these that ye have one to another, as ye walk and are 

* Genesis, iii. 8. 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 249 

sad ?" And this is Christ's way with us still. Before 
he comforts us he will have us confide in him, and open 
to him the secrets of our hearts. In fine, these mourn- 
ers no sooner do make him their confidant, than he pours 
balm into their bosoms, and this by leading them to Cal- 
vary, by turning their eyes to his cross. Looking there, 
light soon breaks in upon their minds, hope revives in 
their hearts. And I need not say it is thus that Jesus 
now dissipates the gloom of his people, and cheers and 
irradiates their souls. 

But these and similar thoughts are so directly sug- 
gested by the narrative, that it is unnecessary for me to 
dwell on them. What I desire to mark in the conduct 
of the Eedeemer is the manner in which he makes himself 
known to these two disciples. For observe, my brethren, 
in the first place, that he does not at once reveal Jiimself 
to them ; and why not ? For reasons most obvious. 
They had, as yet, no idea of the atonement. When he 
foretold his crucifixion, declaring that it was necessary, 
Peter was indignant, and said, " Be it far from thee, Lord, 
this shall not be unto thee/' Had he not instructed them 
before showing himself, they would have been wholly un- 
prepared rightly to welcome him ; they would, perhaps, 
like the Apostles, have been " terrified and affrighted, 
supposing they had seen a spirit/' It is certain they 
could not have been filled with the intelligent joy which 
sprang up in their souls when he was made known to 
them. 

In the next place, see how he prepares them for the 
manifestation he is about to make. It is by opening the 

11* 



TIIE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

Scriptures to them. He will not let their faith rest on 
the testimony of men or of angels. Convincing as was 
the vision on Mount Tabor, Peter, who was there and 
beheld the glorified Jesus, says, " We have a more sure 
word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take 
heed." And it is to this sure word that Jesus turns the 
minds of these disciples. He magnifies " his word above 
all his name/' He teaches them that faith comes by 
hearing, and hearing by the word of God. " Beginning 
at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them 
in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself/' The 
blessings of the gospel are promised to faith ; but faith 
is not sight, nor is it a dream or vision ; faith is a belief 
of the Scriptures, and the Scriptures all testify of him. 

" Beginning at Moses" — " the law is a schoolmaster 
to bring us to Christ." " Christ is the end of the law" 
— all the provisions of the Levitical and moral codes ter- 
minating in him. " And all the prophets." In all the 
pages of patriarch and prophet he shines like the sun 
in the firmament of heaven. Popeiy, Arminianism, all 
heresy, send us to some purgatory — the purgatory of 
Eome being after death, that of Protestantism before. 
But the Scriptures of truth gather all their inspiration 
into one glorious note of admiration, gratitude, faith, 
love — and cry, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh 
away the sin of the world." 

Yes^Christ is all and in all, when we understand the 
inspired volume. And remark, once more, that in this 
exposition of the Scriptures by Jesus himself it is a cru- 
cified, risen Bedeemer who is to regenerate the earth and 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 251 

establish a spiritual kingdom. " Ought not Chris't to 
have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory ?" 
It is a suffering Jesus who is to enter into glory. On the 
mount, when Moses and Elias appeared as representa- 
tives of the church triumphant, they were absorbed with 
the sublime phenomenon about # to be exhibited ; "they 
appeared in glory, and spake of his decease, which he 
should accomplish at Jerusalem/' It is a privilege be- 
yond all appreciation that the world has had such a 
teacher, and such an example ; but the great want of 
humanity is a Saviour ; and the mission of the Son of 
God was to " seek and to save that which was lost" — to 
be delivered for our sins, and rise again for our justifi- 
cation. Hence the Apostle says, " I determined not to 
know anything among you but Christ Jesus and " him 
crucified ;" him — not wielding with a word all the hid- 
den mysteries of nature, or shedding from his lips wis- 
dom warm from heaven — but " him crucified ;" him — 
not amidst the insufferable blaze of Tabor — but amidst 
the softened and far sublimer glories of Calvary. Christ 
crucified was the theme of all the Apostles. The work 
of the Holy Spirit upon earth is to " glorify" a crucified 
Saviour. And here, in this narrative, when Jesus inter- 
prets the sacred pages, we find that "in all the Scrip- 
tures" the truths disclosed are "things concerning him- 
self" — all testifying "beforehand the sufferings of Christ 
and the glory which should follow." 

III. What is the effect of this interview upon these 
two disciples ? Their souls are first consoled, then 
warmed, then heated. While Jesus is speaking the fire 



232 THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

kindles ; his words fall upon train after train of memory 
and hope and love, until everything is in a glow, and 
their hearts are burning within them. " And they said 
one to another, Did not our hearts burn within us while 
he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to 
us the Scriptures ?" A burning heart ! what a noble 
expression ; there is something contagious in the very 
words ; we cannot utter them without feeling a sacred ar- 
dor in our own hearts. And wdiy is this ? Why is it that 
every true soul is moved by this language ? The secret 
here — as always when human utterances reach and melt 
us — is simply this, the emotion described did really live 
in a living human heart. It is the rays of the sun in the 
heavens, not of a painted sun, which warm us and stir 
the subtle sjDrings of life in nature ; and there is the 
same difference between the simple language of real feel- 
ing, and all the studied artificial parade of rhetoric. 
The phrase is found here for the first time in any writ- 
ings ; these disciples did not learn it out of books, not 
even the sacred Books ; it is the untaught vernacular 
outburst of real feeling. What men want is not words, 
but sincerity and earnestness. Let truth and sincerity 
be in the bosom, and the lips will be instantly touched 
with a live coal. A burnins; heart ; I have said that 
the words are new, but, like all language coming from 
the heart, they need no interpreter, they seem familiar 
to us as soon as we hear them. 

Jesus has not yet disclosed himself to the eyes of 
these disciples, this revelation of himself is internal and 
spiritual. This manifestation to faith is nobler, more 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 253 

rejoicing than any which, can be made to the senses ; 
and it is this which causes their hearts to burn ; and 
with reason. 

For, my brethren, who is the speaker to whose ac- 
cents these two pilgrims are listening ? He is the 
" friend of sinners ; it is he who is entering into all 
their griefs, condoling with all their sorrows, and raising 
their drooping spirits. Which of us but has felt the 
power and sweetness of sympathy, when our hearts have 
been cast down within us ? But how cold are all hu- 
man sympathies, compared with those of Jesus — of him 
who is the healer of the broken heart, the binder up of 
the bruised spirit — of him who stooped to our nature, 
that he might be a merciful Eedeemer " touched with 
the feeling of our infirmities." It is the Man of sorrows 
speaking of his sufferings for man — reciting the mourn- 
ful tragedy of pain and tears and blood through which 
he had just passed, and in which he displayed such dis- 
interested and inextinguishable love for our race. 

The speaker. Eecall, now, his subject, the glorious 
truths which these disciples hear from such a speaker. 
He will presently " open their eyes to know him," but 
now he confers a far greater blessing ; he opens their 
hearts to comprehend him as he is revealed in the gos- 
pel ; he " expounds to them in ail the Scriptures the 
things concerning himself/' " The things concerning 
himself!" These disciples had been accustomed to all 
the terrors of the law in the Old Testament — Sinai 
burning with fire, and encompassed " with blackness 
and darkness and tempest," — Moses exclaiming, "I ex- 



-54 THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

lingly fear and quake" — Jonah still repeating, as lie 
moves through the doomed city, that portentous her- 
aldry. " Vet forty days and Nineveh shall be de- 
" — Sodom and Gomorrah blended in one red 
burial — and that terrible proclamation, heard from the 
lips of prophets, and written in blf>od on all the service 
of the temple, " Cursed is every one that continueth 
not in all things written in the book of the law to do 
them/' But now what truths rejoice their souls. " Give 
ear, ye heavens, and I will speak ; and hear, earth, 
the words of my mouth. My doctrine shall drop as the 
rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain 
upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass, 
because I will publish the name of the Lord/' " The 
things concerning himself ;" the risen Saviour will not 
reveal himself to their eyes, until he has first revealed 
himself to their faith as the Christ of Scripture. The 
purifying, consoling, saving knowledge of Jesus, is ap- 
prehended, not only by the senses, but by a believing 
heart. 

" He opened to them the Scriptures ;" what a 
preacher ; what a discourse. happy Christians, how 
we envy you. What a privilege to have him opening 
the Scriptures to your hearts, and opening your hearts 
to the Scriptures. Why has not this heavenly commen- 
tary been preserved ? What an inestimable treasure it 
would be to the Church ; what a loss have we not sus- 
tained. Say not so, child of God. Jesus still walks 
with you, still, by his Spirit, opens the Scriptures to 
you. Envy not these thy brethren, but go on thy jour- 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. • 200 

ney homeward, and plead with risen, loving Saviour his 
own promises. He says, "When he the Spirit of truth 
is come, he ^ill guide you into all truth. He shall re- 
ceive of mine, and shall show it unto you/' "All thy 
children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be 
the peace of thy children/' 

As he thus opens to them the Scriptures, their hearts 
burn within them. How clear all appears now ; how 
gloriously has all been fulfilled ; why did they not see 
it before ? how foolish and ignorant have they been, not 
to understand what the prophets had spoken. His voice 
vibrates through the very depths of their being, his 
words penetrate their inmost souls. The truth not 
only irradiates their minds, but suffuses a genial ardor 
through their hearts — a heavenly fire, at first soft and 
gentle — but catching and spreading until all becomes a 
sacred conflagration. 

A burning heart. Tou understand now what in- 
flamed the souls of these two travellers. But perhaps 
you are not satisfied with this general explanation. You 
wish to analyze their sensations, and to know what were 
the feelings which thus glowed in their bosoms. Nor, 
if such is your desire, do I find any difficulty in comply- 
ing with it. Do you ask me what emotions burned in 
the hearts of these disciples ? I answer, first, Love. In 
the whole account of the Saviour's resurrection, we see 
the difference between the nature of women and of men. 
The former are less suspicious, more prompt, unhesi- 
tating, unquestioning in their confidence ; and more true 
in their affection. Hence Jesus appeared first to women. 



WALK TO EMMATJS. 

They were earliest at the tomb, had the first assurance 
from the angels, and the first view of the risen Be- 
deemer. Mary, indeed, did not at first rgcognize him, 
but it was not on account of unbelief; it was because 
her tears had blinded her ; they were falling so fast that 
they wove a liquid veil between her and him whom she 
red. It is* to love that Jesus hastens to manifest 
himself, and during the three days between the Sa- 
viour's crucifixion and resurrection, it was only in the 
hearts of women that love would* know no abatement. 
These disciples, however, had never ceased to love. To 
me the very ground of their unbelief is a tender proof 
of their affection. " Him they saw not" — had they but 
seen him ; they saw a vision of angels, but saw ye him 
whom our souls love ? No, " Him they saw not •" and 
what if they saw thousands of angels, what if all the 
angels of heaven should appear, they cannot console us 
for our bereavement. They still loved, but their hearts 
had been crushed by such a blow. The fire was almost 
extinguished ; it is now fanned ; the dying embers be- 
gin to glow, the smoking ^flax blazes up. They know 
not the stranger, but he speaks to them of one dearer to" 
them than life ; how much sweeter the memory of him 
than the presence of all besides. And, then, he speaks 
of that Being with such warmth and earnestness. It 
was just after one of his seasons of melancholy, that 
Cowper, taking the hand of a man who sat beside him 
in church, and who had united heartily in the hymn, 
said, with tears, "How I thank you for singing the 
praises of Him whom I so love." Scriptures, too, with 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 257 

which they had long been familiar are transfigured and 
luminous as they distil from his lips. Not only does 
light dispel the foolishness of their minds, but a flame 
quickens the sluggishness of their souls. Their hearts 
burn within them. They burn with love. 

Do you ask me what emotions burned in the hearts 
of these disciples ? I answer, joy. " The testimony of 
the Lord is sure, making wise the simple ; the statutes 
of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart/' There is 
vouchsafed to them now a foretaste of the Pentecostal 
fire. Bemember, it is the Christian Sabbath, the day 
of Christ's resurrection. In reference to that day, the 
Psalmist, after describing the deep sorrows of the Son 
of G-od, exclaims in triumph, " The voice of rejoicing 
and salvation is in the tabernacles of the righteous ; the 
right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly ; the right hand 
of the Lord is exalted ; the right hand of the Lord doeth 
valiantly ; this is the day which the Lord hath made, 
we will rejoice and be glad in it." The reverberation 
of that glorious anthem, the echoes of that great joy, are 
even now in the souls of these two disciples. Their 
hearts burn within them, burn with joy. In a word, 
and not to dwell too long upon this topic, the hearts of 
these disciples burned, not only with love and joy, but 
with the strangest, sweetest surprise. Their astonish- 
ment and rapture must have been overpowering an hour 
later, when " their eyes were opened and they knew him, 
and he vanished out of their sight." What a moment 
that ! What ages crowded into that moment ! The 
narrative is very brief, but it requires no effort of ima- 



25S THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

gination to enter with these three travellers into that 
room at Enmiaus, and witness what takes place. Al- 
ready, before reaching the village, we have seen this 
stranger mysteriously acquiring a perfect ascendency 
over the minds of his two companions ; and now, seated 
at the table, he begins to remove the cloud; he becomes 
silent and invested with a sacred awe. Though only an 
invited guest, he at once presides over the repast ; and 
this recals to the minds of the disciples another memor- 
able supper, the last which Jesus had eaten with his 
Apostles, the details of which were fresh and warm in 
the remembrance of all. He takes the bread in his hand; 
how often had they seen Jesus, while alive, take bread 
with that same graceful gesture ; how exactly thus did 
he take the loaves, as he looked compassionately on the 
four thousand whom he miraculously fed. He lifts his 
eyes to heaven ; their eyes instinctively meet, their hands 
unconsciously seek each other and are clasped together, 
their hearts throb with tumultuous, irrepressible sen- 
sations. He begins to pray ; they cannot unite in the 
petition, their gaze is riveted upon him. That voice ! 
Those tones ! Who is this? It cannot be; and yet. 
those accents ! Cleopas — Cleopas, who is this ? Ceas- 
ing to pray, he breaks the bread and gives it to them ; 
and as they receive it the mists are dispersed, the veil 
falls, and he stands before them. *It is he ! It is he ! 
Oh, Eedeemer, oh, wonder, oh, transport, rapture, \ 
ecstacy. They rise. They hasten to cast themselves at \ 
his feet— but he is gone — he has vanished out of their 
sight. 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 259 

This astonishment, however, did not break in upon 
them suddenly, it was awakened gradually. As' in the 
morning, before the orb of day bursts upon the world, 
the eastern clouds are first fleckered with tender light, 
and then all warmly suffused with* red, thus w£ s it with 
this revelation of the risen Saviour to his disciples. He 
first questions them, then penetrates the source of all 
their griefs, then causes the light of truth to fall upon 
their minds, then touches their hearts, theij dispels the 
twilight shadows and discloses himself to their ravished 
eyes in all his immortal grace and beauty. 

Nor must I dismiss this history without noticing the 
conduct of these disciples, now that their faith and hope 
are revived. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye 
shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice ; and 
ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned 
into joy. I will see you again and your heart shall re- 
joice, and your joy no man taketh from you." This 
promise has now been fulfilled, and see the effect. They 
who had dissuaded the stranger from proceeding further 
that night, now heed neither darkness nor danger. Their 
first palpitating rapture over — their exulting hallelujah 
— they leave the house, and with eager haste retrace 
their steps, impatient to tell the good tidings to the 
Apostles. What a contrast now between this journey 
and that of the afternoon. They leave the repast un- 
touched, for they have bread to eat which others know 
not of. Hill and valley are shrouded in darkness, but 
within all is radiant with glory. Entering the city, they 
inquire for the Apostles ; and, being informed that they 



260 TH'r: WALK TO EMMAUS. 

are assembled, they prpss to the place, and, rushing in, 
•* find the eleven gathered together, and them that were 
with them, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath 
appeared to Simon." At once they tell what things 
were done in the way, and how he was made known to 
them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, 
Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto 
them, '-Peace be unto you." It is God's decree that 
" the soul of the diligent shall be made fat/' * These 
disciples taste the blessednevss of that promise, for they 
are rewarded with a second view of their Lord that same 
night. Xor does lie now vanish out of their sight ; he 
remains with them, and comforts and cheers them, pour- 
ing new life and celestial peace into their souls. 

IT. In finishing this discourse, let us extract from 
this history two lessons, and let the first be, The duty 
of living by faith, not by sight. "When we open the 
sacred Volume we find that to faith nothing is impossi- 
ble : but where is this omnipotent grace ? Looking at 
Christians in these days, we cannot help asking, If the 
Son of Man were now to come, would he find faith upon 
the earth ? Yet this entire narrative — the Saviour's re- 
buke of these disciples — the manner in which he in- 
structs them — his sudden vanishing — all teaches us that 
it is not by the senses, but by faith in revealed truth 
that we are to walk. He appears to convince them of 
his resurrection, and to assure them of his constant care 
and faithfulness. He disappears, to teach that, though 
they have known him after the flesh, henceforth they are 
only to know him and commune with him spiritually. 



THE WALK TO EMMATJS. 261 

" Blessed are tbey that have not seen, and yet have 
believed" — this is the motto of the gospel ; let us enter 
into its glorious import. Still Jesus joins himself to. 
us ; still he walks with us ; still he instructs us, speak- 
ing to us by his word, his providences, his Spirit ; still 
he seeks to enter into our sorrows and trials, and to con- 
sole and cheer us. But we know him not. Our eyes 
are holden by unbelief. We do not press him to abide 
with us. Hence he is grieved, and we are left alone in 
the night. 

Another lesson. Let us seek burning hearts. Faith 
is a great word ; but there is a greater, more imperial 
word, it is Love. The life of love is a truer, higher life 
than that of faith ; its strength failed not amidst all the 
unbelief of these disciples ; and it will be perpetuated 
and perfected in heaven, when faith shall cease forever. 
Let us seek burning hearts. Intellect is good, and 
imagination is good ; but a heart on fire, a heart in- 
flamed with love, is best of all. A drop of Christ's 
blood falling from the cross, and penetrating the earth, 
has purified the atmosphere, and made this fallen planet 
a new world. And a drop of that blood falling from 
the cross, and penetrating our bosoms, ought to purify 
our characters, and make our hearts new and glowing 
he-arts. That it is not always so, is, alas, too true. 
And why not ? The reason is not far to see. 

We believe, indeed, that the Lord is risen ; but we 
do not feel the joy which is ours in this risen Jesus — the 
triumphant assurance of souls which can say, " We 
know that our Eedeemer liveth, that ours is a living, 



262 THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

sympathizing, ever present, almighty friend and Sa- 
viour." We believe that the Lord is risen ; hut we do 
not see what this risen Saviour is to us ; that he is 
u wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and full redemp- 
tion ;" we are slow of heart to comprehend that exult- 
ing argument. " If when we were enemies we were 
reconciled to God by the death of his Son, how much 
m »re being reconciled shall we be saved by his life/' In 
short, he is risen, and what are his first words ? They 
are *' ; Peace be unto you ;" but, conscious of our unwor- 
thiness and guilt, we will not receive this benediction : 
we resemble the eleven, who heard this salutation from 
his lips, but, remembering their own perficliousness, 
were only agitated and terrified. 

; for a living faith in a living Redeemer ! Would 
that our thoughts and conversation, like those of these 
disciples, were ever of him, liy beloved brethren, every 
day we are journeying, and how important is it to have 
Jesus with us by the way. Nor ask, how you may se- 
cure his presence, for this narrative informs you. It is 
when our hearts yearn after him, and when we leave the 
noise and tumult of the world, to think of him, that he 
draws nigh to us. It is when we walk and are sad be- 
cause we are without his presence ; when we are not 
ashamed to confess before strangers ; and when we sj^eak 
often one to another, with those who love him — it is 
then that he joins himself, to us. It is when we un- 
bosom ourselves to him, and confide to him all our cares 
and sorrows and temptations, that he walks with us, 
and abides with us, and opens to us the Scriptures con- 



THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 263 

perning himself — his dignity, his suitableness, his loveli- 
ness, his truth, his tenderness, his faithfulness, revealing 
himself in us ; causing our hearts to burn within us — to 
burn with love, gratitude, devotion, courage, joy — to 
burn with a celestial fire, which consumes all selfishness 
and sin, and glows, a pure, perennial flame, upon pure 
and living altars. 

My brethren, my very dear brethren, let us covet, 
let us secure, this great blessing, a burning heart. If 
Jesus be ever thus with us, what different things will 
life and death be. During all our pilgrimage he will 
cheer, and enlighten, and rejoice our hearts, infusing 
fresh confidence, replenishing our souls with that joy 
of the Lord which is our strength. And at death — 
then how will our hearts kindle and burn as he draws 
nigh and manifests himself to us — to be separated from 
us no more — to abide with us — or rather to take us to 
abide with him forever — to abide where there is no more 
sin, nor sorrow, nor night, and where we shall compre- 
hend all the unutterable import of those words, " Father, 
I will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with 
me where I am." 

" They constrained him, saying, Abide with us, for 
it is toward evening and the day is far spent." To some 
of you this language is full of meaning, for your day is 
far spent, and the shadows of night are stretched out. 
But whether we be old or young, whether for life or 
death, let tis make this prayer ours, daily and hourly. 
Abide with us, Saviour ; Eedeemer of our soul, leave 



264 THE WALK TO EMMAUS. 

us not. Abide with us ; for without thee, life is no 
longer life ; with thee, death is no longer death. 

u Sun of my soul, thou Saviour dear, 
It is not night if thou be near. • 
Oh, let no earth-born cloud arise, 
To hide thee from thy servant's eyes. 

" Abide with me from morn till eve, 
For without thee I cannot live. 
Abide with me when night is nigh, 
For without thee I dare not die." 



SERMON X. 

THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 

"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness, to be 
tempted of the devil." — Matthew, iv. 1. 

Why should we doubt the existence of evil spirits ? 
The interval between man and nothing is finite ; yet it 
is crowded with active, articulate life, with a descending 
series of inferior beings. Between God and man the 
space is infinite ; how unphilosophical to suppose that 
this immensity is a bleak, uninhabited solitude. Why 
should we think that there are no orders of intelligences 
superior to man ? Why may not such intelligences fall 
from their original glory, as man has fallen, and become 
most formidable contrivers of mischief ? But I am not 
going to argue the matter ; for either we must regard 
the Scriptures as a fable, or we must receive then plain 
testimony upon this subject. 

There is this very great difference between writers 
who do not, and those who do profess to be inspired. 
As to the former, we may discard a part of their works 
and believe the rest. Not so where there is a claim to 
inspiration. Here our confidence is challenged because 
the writer is imparting a direct revelation from heaven. 

12 



266 THE saviour's temptation. 

We must, therefore, either accept his whole message as 
an authentic communication from God, or reject the 
whole as an imposture. The existence of evil spirits, 
like the existence of all moral evil, is a fearful mystery. 
The fact, however, is so clearly announced in the Scrip- 
tures, that to deny it is not to mistake, but to contradict 
the sacred writers. There is no ambiguity in the lan- 
guage of the Bible on this subject. And while I cannot 
solve the dark problem presented in the existence of the 
" devil and his angels/' yet I see plainly the good- 
ness of Grod in warning us against them. We are thus 
put upon our guard. As the gospel excites love and 
gratitude by fixing our affections upon a person ; so it 
is not to be questioned that our vigilance and courage 
are awakened, when we know that we are contending 
with personal enemies who seek to corrupt us, who 
watch to decoy and ruin us, who, as the Apostle says, 
" walk about seeking whom they may devour." 

I. The narrative of the Saviour's temptation is given, 
in almost the same words, by three of the Evangelists. 
If it is not the history of a real transaction, then the 
sacred writers are wholly unworthy of credit in any of 
the records they have made. If the temptation of Jesus 
be a myth, a metaphor, an allegory, then his baptism, 
which is mentioned just before, and the "angels who 
came and ministered unto him," are myths and meta- 
phors and allegories ; his birth, sermons, miracles, life, 
death, are myths and allegories and metaphors. The 
power expressly assigned to evil angels is, by some, ex- 
plained to mean the influence of imagination. It is im- 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 267 

possible to know, with such people, where their infidelity 
stops, and where their pretended reverence for the Bible 
begins. Will they say that the demoniacal agency over 
brutes, of which we read in the Gospels, was the force of 
imagination in those brutes ? Will they dare to affirm 
that this chapter only relates a case of the illusion of 
imagination in the Son of God ? 

But I will not waste your time in exposing the ab- 
surdities and contradictions of men, who will adopt any 
theory to defend their systems, rather than " receive with 
meekness*' the revelation which God has given us. You, 
brethren, revere the oracles of eternal truth, and to you 
the recital before us is replete with interest. Let us 
review it, and let us begin by inquiring why the Be- 
deemer was thus "led up by the Spirit" — by divine ap- 
pointment — " to be tempted of the devil ?" 

"It behooved Christ to suffer," and, beyond a doubt, 
his temptation was one of his sorest sufferings. To his 
holy nature it must have been intense anguish, thus to 
be brought in close contact with sin, to endure the di- 
rect revolting suggestions of the Evil One. On the cross 
" the King immortal" tasted the bitterness of death. In 
the horrible solicitations of Satan, the "'Holy One of 
God" tasted the hatefulness of sin, and the humiliation 
and detestation which its loathsome presentation must 
excite in a Being perfectly pure. But it was a neces- 
sary passage in the painful enterprise to which he hum- 
bled himself " in the days of his flesh." And one reason 
assigned by the inspired writers for this mysterious 
ordeal is. that he might be in all things a perfect Sa- 



268 THE saviour's temptation. 

viour, " For it became him, for whom are all things, 
and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons 
unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation per- 
fect through sufferings." 

We are apt to take up the whole thing amiss as to 
the perfection of that humanity which belongs to us, 
and which Jesus took into union with his divinity. It 
is generally confounded with innocence. They are, how- 
ever, two very different things. A human being may 
be born innocent ; but perfection is a great deal more, 
and can only be reached through trial and discipline. 
Let us comprehend this great truth, and we will under- 
stand the love of Gi-od in much which seems stern and 
inscrutable in his dealings with us. My brethren, a ca- 
pacity for pleasure, affections and passions the gratifi- 
cation of which imparts happiness — these are not the 
highest proofs of God's benevolence toward us. He has 
conferred upon us nobler _ endowments. He has im- 
planted in us principles which are truly godlike, an 
inward sense of what is pure and true and right, the 
power of self-denial and self-conquest. He has enriched 
us with faculties by which we can propose, as the aim 
of our existence, all that is spiritual and holy, immo- 
lating to this exalted achievement every selfish wish and 
indulgence. Grod has manifested his goodness chiefly by 
imparting these elements to our souls, and by placing us 
in situations which develop and invigorate them. Per- 
fection in man is the complete triumph of these sublime 
and heavenly principles. It is the supreme control of 
the will of God over all our thoughts and passions and 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 269 

actions. But to attain this perfection, the soul must be 
exercised and educated, must receive strength and dig- 
nity by trial, exposure, and suffering. 

These remarks apply to that nature which is com- 
mon to us all, and they apply equally to the humanity 
of the Eedeemer. By his immaculate conception he was 
P separate from sinners" — entirely free from all taint of 
original sin — yet he " was made perfect through suffer- 
ing/' " Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience 
by the things which he suffered." We lose the benefit 
of Christ's example and sympathy, by regarding him as 
far removed from us, and belonging to another order of 
life. This is a great mistake. He is indeed immeasur- 
ably above us, but his humanity is our humanity, and 
in its glorious perfection shines the pattern to which we 
are to aspire. This perfection the man Jesus reached 
by conflicts and triumphs. "We read of his hunger, 
and thirst, and weariness, of his sorrows and tears and 
groans. But it was especially by temptation that he 
was qualified to be a perfect Saviour for man. The 
Godhead and Manhood were united in one mysterious 
Being, but the conditions of his humanity were such 
that he could feel all the force of temptation. It is ex- 
pressly declared that a he suffered being tempted ;" and 
it is by his experience of the dreadful arts and malice 
and power of the Tempter, that he knows how to pity 
and succor us. "For in that he himself hath suffered, 
being tempted, he is able also to succor them that are 
tempted." " For we have not an high priest which 
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities ; 



270 the saviour's temptation. 

but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet with- 
out sin/' 

This last quotation suggests another lesson which we 
learn from the Saviour's temptation. We there see that 
there may be violent temptation "without sin/' All 
the fierce malignity of the Tempter was exhausted upon 
him, yet he remained immaculate. And this, as I said, 
not because he was inaccessible to the solicitations of 
evil, but because he could neither be surprised by the 
suddenness of temptation, nor mastered by its power, 
nor seduced by its insidiousness. This distinction be- 
tween temptation and sin we see constantly recognized 
in the Scriptures. In that exhortation, " Be ye angry 
and sin not," we are told that anger may not be crim- 
inal, though it is a state of violent temptation, in which 
we must guard against vindictiveness which is a heinous 
sm. 

The scene before us teaches yet another lesson. We 
see here the limits of the Tempter's power. He can only 
solicit, can only say, " Cast thyself down." Without 
our own consent he is harmless, and this consent is in 
our own will ; it is the voluntary compliance of the whole 
inner man. We thus appropriate the temptation ; the 
spirit of the seducer becomes so incorporated in us that 
it is said, " Satan entered into Judas." The exhortation, 
" Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation," 
denotes that temptation may be ever so near, but cannot 
injure us, unless we make common cause with the enemy 
and enter into his designs. 

I will only add that this narrative furnishes a fearful 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 271 

illustration of that inspired warning, " Let him that 
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall/' Jesus has 
just experienced the joys of his baptism, the heavens 
have just been opened to his eyes, the Holy Spirit has 
just descended like a dove, and the voice from the excel- 
lent glory has just proclaimed, " This is my beloved Son, 
in whom I am well pleased." And it is when his soul is 
thus elated with these sublime raptures, that he is at- 
tacked by all the artifice and fierceness of the Tempter. 
" Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilder- 
ness to be tempted of the devil/' The same Spirit which 
had just shaken light and blessedness from his peaceful 
wings, now spreads those pinions and heralds him away 
to this painful and humiliating encounter with the pow- 
ers of hell. 

II. Thus much on our first topic, which is preliminary. 
Let us now go on to our principal subject, the tempta- 
tions to which the Saviour was exposed. " He was in 
all points tempted like as we are." All the solicitations 
by which we can ever be tried were comprehended in those 
which tried him. As the Lord's Prayer is an abridge- 
ment of all prayer, so the Lord's temptation is an epi- 
tome of all temptation. In these three assaults, con- 
ducted with such vigor and adroitness, Satan measured 
strength with the God-man, contesting with him the mas- 
tery over our race. All his power was, therefore, exerted, 
and for the first time that power is vanquished by One 
"found in fashion as a man," "made in- the likeness of 
men." Man fresh from the hands of his Creator, and re- 
joicing in his palmy glory, the "seducer had approached 



272 THE saviour's temptation. 

with most disastrous results. Jehovah selected a nation" 
and distinguished them as his peculiar heritage ; they 
not only did not resist the Tempter's artifices, but at once 
became accessories with him in outraging the God who 
had signally blessed them. Now the arch-fiend beholds 
One " in the likeness of sinful flesh/' whom he does not 
yet recognize, but at sight of whom portentous misgiv- 
ings seize upon him. 

After this field of conflict, when victor and vanquished 
retired from it, the invisible enemies of God and man 
knew well who this mysterious Incarnation was. We 
find them crying out, " We know thee who thou art, the 
holy One of God. Art thou come to destroy ? We be- 
i seech thee torment us not before our time/' Indeed, his 
feeblest disciples triumphed over them by the bare men- 
tion of his name. " The seventy returned, saying, Lord, 
even the devils are subject to us through thy name." 
Yes, men may deny his divine power and majesty, but 
Satan and his hosts know their God, and tremble before 
him. 

At present, however, this " second Adam" is not yet 
recognized as " the Lord from heaven." The devil, there- 
fore, plies him with his artful seductions — betraying, 
however, by his " If thou be the Son of God," the aston- 
ishment and fear which began to possess him. 

I. We have seen that the Saviour's temptations are 
types of our own. It is, therefore, of eternal moment 
that we examine them in their order. And, beginning 
with the first, I remark that it was addressed to the 
senses. Through these avenues the Deceiver had sue- 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 273 

ceeded in the first apostacy of our race. By these solici- 
tations he still generally wins his first conquests over the 
children of Adam. And by these suggestions he now 
seeks to overcome the Eedeemer. " And when he* had 
fasted forty clays and forty nights, he was afterwards a 
hungered. And when the Tempter came unto him, he 
said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these 
stones be made bread/' 

Now, to perceive the power of this temptation, you 
must recollect several things. In the first place, the mi- 
raculous support by which Jesus had been sustained 
for forty days and forty nights was now withdrawn, and 
his nature strongly craved nourishment. Then, he was in 
the wilderness, where food could not be procured. He 
possessed, too, the power to convert any substance into 
bread — a power he afterwards put forth on two occasions 
to feed the multitudes — and what wrong could have 
been done had he employed that power for his own press- 
ing necessities ? Above all, how plausible to his very 
piety this argument, " If thou be the Son of God com- 
mand that these stones be made bread" — " Before thee 
is an enterprise of vast importance. The glory of God 
and the salvation of man are suspended upon thy minis- 
try. But all these purposes will be defeated if thou 
shouldst perish here of famine. It is thy duty, there- 
fore, miraculously to sustain thy life." Enter into these 
thoughts, remembering that Jesus was truly a man, and 
you will feel how potent was this first instigation of the 
seducer. 

But does the Saviour yield ? No, he refutes these 
12* 



LW4 THE SAVIOURS TEMPTATION. 

suggestions. To entertain them for a moment would 
be to doubt the love and power of his Father. He ; 
therefore, promptly meets the Tempter with that Word, 
the might of which they both well understood. "He 
answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by 
bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of 
the mouth of God/' An answer this which we ought 
carefully to study. 

" It is written/' When the serpent first allured Eve, 
she nobly answered, "«God hath said, ye shall not eat of 
it/' But she stood not loyal to the Word. As the 
Apostle says, she was beguiled through his subtlety, 
and corrupted from her simple trust in God ; and the 
catastrophe soon came. Not so now. The Eedeemer 
causes the Deceiver to recoil, by pressing him incessantly 
with that Word which at once unmasks his lying delu- 
sions, and breaks the spell of his enchantments. 

" It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, 
but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of 
God/' " Word" here does not mean a vocal sound, but 
the will of God however expressed. And, now, even as 
to our animal existence, how instructive is the truth 
quoted. If bread nourishes our bodies, it is not because 
these particles of matter contain in themselves a life- 
giving virtue, but because the will of God has imparted 
this efficacy to them. That will can make any other 
substance equally nutritious, or it can maintain life by 
a direct act of omnipotence without the medium of any 
substance. Hence we are taught to pray directly for 
" daily bread" each day. The Saviour had already 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 275 

been supported for forty days, and the same almightiness 
could still support him for forty years. 

Is " Man/' however, only a body with senses and ap- 
petites ? Man is a "living soul ;" and his true life is 
sustained and replenished, not by bread, but by spiritual 
nutrition. " The life is more than meat/' Man, the 
true man, does not live at all, except as his low animal 
existence is subordinated to his inner higher life. " He 
that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his 
life shall find it." He who gratifies his appetites and 
passions by wronging his soul forfeits spiritual strength 
and vitality. But he who habitually asserts the supe- 
riority of the higher and nobler elements of his nature, 
who surrenders every gratification that he may be true 
to God — he is recognizing and recruiting that principle 
of life which is now man's real dignity, and which will 
be his happiness and glory when the earthly life shall 
have perished forever. 

"It is written/' The passage here cited is from 
Deuteronomy, and refers to the miraculous supply of 
manna. Israel said they must die, because they were 
in a desert where the earth was perfectly barren. But 
God makes them understand that the same word which 
causes the ground to bring forth food can make the sky 
fruitful. Whatever conveys life to man's body or soul, 
is God's word transmitting God's life to the receiver of 
it. " Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every 
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Hu- 
manity was originally formed to ^receive its life by im- 
mediate donation from the Creator. It had fallen from 



'276 THE saviour's temptation. 

this primal glory, and now — confidence in God being 
destroyed — it had overlooked and lost the soul in its 
grovelling avarice to gain the world. The Man Jesus 
* had come to correct this disorder, to reinstate humanity. 
He could say, " My meat is to do the will of him that 
sent me/' He, therefore, rebukes and repels the artful 
enticements of the Tempter. 

I have said, that in these temptations were wrapped 
up all the temptations to which we are exposed ; nor is 
it difficult to see when Satan attacks us with this first 
artifice, when he seeks through the senses to seduce 
and destroy us. 

Sometimes his solicitations are gross and polluting, 
and myriads are ruined by these. Besides reason and 
conscience, we are endowed with propensities which seek 
their gratification in sensible objects. These desires 
must be controlled ; for in themselves they are headlong 
impulses, precipitating us upon what is sinful and fatal, 
as well as upon what is lawful and healthful to our na- 
ture. Nor is this all. These appetites prescribe no 
limits to themselves, and become exorbitant, inexora- 
ble, and insatiable in proportion to their indulgence. 
Through these desires the passions " war against the 
soul/' Through these appetites the Tempter, un- 
less resisted, will absorb and inflame the whole heart ; 
"fleshly lusts" will subvert the order established by 
God, and produce the most fearful disorders — degrad- 
ing into utter sensuality a creature formed to rejoice 
in communion with heaven — impelling him, in spite of 
reason, in spite of the loud remonstrances of conscience, 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 277 

in spite of his most solemn resolutions, upon vices which 
he detests, but which have gradually mastered him, 
have acquired that despotism against which David cried 
out with such imploring emphasis, " Oh, my God let 
not my sins have dominion over me !" My friends, the 
most miserable man is not he who finds pleasure in sin- 
ful gratification, it is he who is bound hand and foot by 
habits which he hates ; but which, like the evil spirits 
mentioned in the Bible, lead him whithersoever they 
will. . Let us remember that the seducer may obtain 
this terrible power, and let us " watch and pray that we 
enter not into temptation/' 

This, however, is only the grosser form of this first 
temptation. There are other solicitations, of which this 
first part of our subject more directly admonishes us ; and 
which are more dangerous, because far more insidious. 
" Command that these stones be made bread" is lan- 
guage not confined to deserts. The devil need not take 
men into the wilderness to whisper this suggestion into 
their ears. He is now constantly and successfully insin- 
uating this temptation in your places of business and 
commerce. On 'change, in your offices, and shops, and 
counting-houses, in the city and in the country, he is 
now incessantly saying, " Command stones to be made 
bread." Leave the hard, arduous path of duty and 
truth, and gain your ends by more direct and easier 
methods. And do not ask me, my friends, whom, in 
this aspect, the warning reaches ? Ask yourselves. 
Look around you in the world where you live, and you 
will confess that the answer is not a great way off. 



273 THE saviour's temptation. 

Would you know to whom the alarm is sounded by 
this subject ? It is to those who, not satisfied with 
common modes of gaining a livelihood, resort to dish on- 
est courses ; who mistrust God's providential care, his 
promised blessing on industry, and seek by fraud and 
falsehood to support themselves and their families. Like 
the devil, they too have a Scripture on their tongues. 
" If any provide not for his own, and especially for those 
of his own house, he hath denied the faith and is worse 
than an infidel." This is the only text in the whole 
Bible which has any sort of influence on their lives ; 
and, with it in their mouths, they renounce all faith and 
truth, and do things at which an infidel would blush, 
and which may well make infidels when seen in those 
who profess to be Christians. 

Would you know who are solemnly warned by this 
subject ? It is those who, despising low arts and knav- 
ery, yet employ their talents to amass wealth by meth- 
ods equally sinful, by availing themselves of the sim- 
plicity and ignorance of others. " If thou be the Son of 
God" — endowed with sagacity, tact and genius which 
make you so superior to those around you, why should 
you seek a fortune by the slow routine of business ? 
Anybody can use stones to build a fence, and wait for 
the tardy harvest ; the dullest can plod and drudge ; but 
your skill and dexterity can command success by more 
prompt and brilliant manoeuvres. 

In short, even in Paradise, where he could not know 
hunger, and with all that exuberant afHuence around 
him, man fell, because he would eat what he did not 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 279 

want, and what God had forbidden him to eat. And 
how striking an illustration of the power of this tempta- 
tion do we not still see, in that insatiable lust of accu- 
mulation which is the ruling passion in the world, and 
the ruling passion, I grieve to say it, in the Church. Ah, 
my brethren, my brethren, is it not written, " He that 
maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent/' " the 
love of money is the root of all evil/' "if riches increase 
set not your heart upon them/' " how hardly shall they 
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God," " cove- 
tousness is idolatry ?" Do you imitate the Saviour, and 
repel the Tempter with these Scriptures ? Alas, as to 
some of you, I fear it is the Tempter who scoffingly and 
exultingly recites these passages — secure as he finds him- 
self of his sovereignty over you — surprised at the ease 
with which the constraining love of money triumphs 
over the love of Christ — astonished at the facility with 
which he cheats you out of heavenly treasure, by inflam- 
ing you with an avarice which becomes every day more 
eager and restless, with an intense, consuming passion for 
wealth which you do not need, which now only multi- 
plies your cares and anxieties, and from which you must 
soon be torn away — carrying nothing with you — having 
sent nothing before you — to lie down in everlasting pov- 
erty, bewailing in eternity a covetousness even more 
foolish and infatuated than it is criminal. 

II. From the first temptation let us now pass to the 
second, which is of a different kind, but equally instruc- 
tive to us. The first suggestion was to the senses, this 
is to the mind of the Redeemer. "Then the devil 



280 the saviour's temptation. 

taketh liim up into the holy city, and settcth him on a 
pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be 
the Son of God cast thyself down ; for it is written, He 
shall give his angels charge concerning thee ; and in 
their hands they shall bear thee up, lest - at any time 
thou dash thy foot against a stone." 

The Deceiver has not yet discovered with whom he 
has to do. He must have felt that this was no child ot 
Adam ; but, though baffled, he yet does not despair of 
success by deeper cunning. "When you read, that the 
Saviour was first " taken up to a pinnacle of the tem- 
ple/' and afterwards "'into an exceeding high moun- 
tain/' I advise you to study the lessons taught, and not 
to perplex yourself with idle inquiries as to the charac- 
ter and laws of these phenomena. On this, as on all 
subjects, receive the Scriptures as the word of God, and 
take them just as you read them. "We find in the sacred 
books various accounts of these raptures. Sometimes 
they were ecstacies of the mind — the body remaining 
stationary — but God, by his immediate omnipotence 
over our spirits, making impressions on the soul, and 
unfolding visions to the eye of the mind. Such were 
the raptures of Ezekiel, when " the Spirit lifted him 
up between the earth and heaven, and brought him in 
the visions of God to Jerusalem m " and of John, when 
he received the Apocalypse by visions. Sometimes it 
surpassed the knowledge of him who was thus favored, 
whether the transport affected his body, or mind, or 
both ; as when Paul was caught up into the third 
heaven, but " whether in the body, or out of the body/' 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 281 

he could not tell. And sometimes the body was mirac- 
ulously borne away ; as in the eighth chapter of Acts, 
where it is recorded, that "the Spirit of the Lord 
caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more ; 
and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found 
at Azotus." 

The narrative before us, beyond all doubt, presents 
a case of the last sort of rapture ; but, adopt whatever 
interpretation you choose, the nature of the temptation 
is clear. And observe its subtlety and audacity. The 
Saviour had before frustrated the Tempter by holding 
him to the Word. " Indeed" — thus the fiend reasons 
— " dost thou cling so closely to Scripture ? by Scrip- 
ture will I entrap thee. As man, thou didst nobly con- 
fide in God for food in the desert ; but thou art more 
than man ; art thou not the Son of God ? The Jews 
dispute thy claim, but here thou mayest vindicate it 
openly and conclusively. Look from this pinnacle upon 
the multitudes below ; now leap down among them ; 
they will that thou hast miraculously descended from 
heaven,, and all will confess thy glory. Nor canst thou 
for a moment fear as to thy safety, for thy faith in 
Scripture is perfect, and it is written, He shall give his 
angels charge concerning thee, and in their hands they 
shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot 
against a stone/' 

The reception given to this daring instigation you all 
remember. "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, 
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." By the 
words, "It is written again," we are taught that the will 



282 THE saviour's temptation. 

of God is not to be ascertained by detached texts, but 
by " comparing spiritual things with spiritual things/' 
and receiving the testimony of the unbroken Scriptures. 
And Jesus adds, that to .violate any law of the economy 
of nature or grace, hoping that some other law will se- 
cure impunity, is to tempt and insult the Lawgiver. 

This was the second temptation, and how many who 
had despised all sensual allurements, become victims to 
this stratagem. It was in the holy city, and on a pin- 
nacle of the temple, that Satan quoted the Scriptures, 
and sought to foster pride and presumption by them. 
And such is .still his artifice. It' is in the Church, and 
by those occupying elevated places in the Church, that 
the word of God is too often tampered with and per- 
verted to nourish pride and ambition. 

Men and brethren, hear me on this point. The Bi- 
ble has light for those who desire light, and darkness 
for those who desire darkness. Let pride and prejudice 
possess the mind, and the first enquiry will never be, 
whether a doctrine is -in conformity to the Scriptures, 
but whether it accords with our washes. " If thine eye 
be evil thy whole body shall be full of darkness ; if there- 
fore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is 
that darkness/' If thy spiritual discernment be warped 
and biassed, all thy perceptions of sacred things will be 
darkened. If the God of this world can so blind your 
minds that you receive error as eternal truth, how hope- 
less is your condition. Balaam builds altars, and prays 
to know all the will of God, saying, " All that the Lord 
speaketh that must I do." But vainly does he receive 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 283 

again and again the clearest answers ; these answers are 
not what he wants ; he wants the bribe. He hears the 
voice of God ; but there is another sound which has 
more music for his ears, and to this he is listening — it is 
the clinking of Balak's gold. 

It is never by questioning the authority of God's 
word, that the Tempter hopes to succeed with those who 
profess to be Christians, but by bending and accommo- 
dating that word to their pride and prejudice and pas- 
sions. And never did apostle of error cite a text more 
exactly suited to his purpose, than that which the Father 
of lies now so artfully, and with such seeming reverence, 
urges upon the Redeemer. Remember, my brethren, 
that Jesus was just about to enter upon his ministry ; 
how gloriously would he inaugurate that ministry by 
such a miracle ; and was not the. promise clear and full ? 
was not this the very case for w r hich it was recorded ? 

We have seen how the pure unsullied mind of Jesus 
at once exposed this plausible and crafty suggestion. 
" It is written again ;" and one Scripture can never con- 
tradict another. Errors not only conflict with truth 
but are sure to conflict with each other ; whereas every 
truth in the word of God, as in the whole moral uni- 
verse of God, will agree with every other truth. The 
promise of angel protection was given to faith, that it 
might not fail in the hour of loneliness and trial. To 
forget the inner harmony of the whole Scriptures, and 
convert this promise into a plea for rashness and pre- 
sumption, would have been an impious tempting of 
God. 



284 the saviour's temptation. 

Our Forerunner thus teaches the danger of handling 
the word of God deceitfully ; he warns us against the 
fatal temerity which ventures to try conclusions with 
Jehovah — violating one part of his word, by a pretended 
confidence in another part. But this admonition is 
constantly forgotten ; and, in all ages, multitudes have 
cast themselves down to hell — some of them from the 
pinnacle of the temple — through " the working of Satan 
with all deceivahleness of unrighteousness, because they 
received not the truth in the love of it." 

"Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God' 3 They 
are guilty of this sin, who turn the grace of God into 
licentiousness, finding in the gospel itself a plea for dis- 
obedience to the gospel. Cite a hundred texts, if you 
will, to prove that salvation is wholly of grace ; there is 
no dispute as to this glorious truth. But is it not 
"written again/' that "faith without works is dead ?" 
that "Jesus is the author of salvation to them who 
obey him ?" that "not every one who says Lord, Lord, 
but he that doeth the will of God, shall enter into the ' 
kingdom of heaven ?" 

" Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God!' They 
commit this sin, who resist the calls of God, and trifle 
with their convictions — pretending that the Holy Spirit 
alone can convert them, and they must wait for his effi- 
cacious power ; that is, they will resist as long as they 
can, and until God forces them, when they will submit 
to the painful necessity. What must be the result of 
such deliberate arrogance and mockery but inevitable 
destruction ? It is written, that this glorious Agent 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 285 

alone can subdue the pride and depravity of the human 
heart ; but are we not also warned against the danger of 
refusing to comply with the movements of the Holy 
Spirit ? Is it not written again, " Grieve not the Holy 
Spirit/' " To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not 
your hearts/' " My Spirit shall not always strive with 
man ?" 

In fine, they tempt and insult God by the presump- 
tion here condemned, who plead the mysteries of the Bi- 
ble as an excuse for neglecting duties which are plainly 
revealed. " Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a 
light unto my path." God's word is not given as a dry 
light for speculation, but as a guide in our daily life. 
Nor is a lamp the sun. We are in a land of darkness, 
and the truth is to guard us against danger, to shine up- 
on the path we are treading. It is written, " those things 
which are revealed belong unto us and to our children 
forever, that we may do all the words of the law." But 
" it is written again," " the secret things belong unto 
the Lord our God." You, however, urge these secret 
things and say, I cannot receive the gospel because it 
contains mysteries. Foolish that you are ! For if you 
could comprehend all mysteries, your duty would not be 
any clearer than it now is. Infatuated that you are ! 
For how can a religion come from God without contain- 
ing much that is mysterious ? Above all, what rashness 
and presumption in this conduct. How glorious are the 
truths disclosed to your faith ; what love and condescen- 
sion in this great salvation ; but instead of receiving 
these rich and unmerited blessings, you reject them, and 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATIOK. 

to upbraid God because there are secrets which he 

l£ Have you. then, claims up- 
on Jehovah ? And what can tempt him with greater 
ravatioD — what can more defiantly put to the proof 

nee and mercy — than this affront which you de- 
rately offer to his truth, and wisdom, and love ? 
III. The first temptation was to the senses, the 

cud was to the mind of Jesus. But the most mysterious 
and fatal power of temptation is in the imagination. 

" Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the 

» of Israel'''* — the Syrian who gave that order knew, 
if the monarch were taken, the day was won. The arch- 
seducer knows, that if this imperial faculty, imagination, 
be captivated, he must triumph. Accordingly he gathers 
all his hellish energies for this last attempt. He takes 

Saviour " up into an exceeding high mountain, and 
showeth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory 
of them, and saith unto him. All these things will I : 
thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship ■ me/'" This 
temptation, as I remarked, assaults the heart through 
the imagination : and Grod help 'those whom the deceiver 

:s to bewitch by this his masterpiece of enchantment. 

What can satisfy the heart of man ? Here is surely 
a prize which will gratify the most boundless aspirations 
of his nature. ■■' All the kingdoms of the world and the 

ry thereof ! M Pride, cupidity, voluptuousness, am- 
bition, every passion is intensely solicited. And mark 
how the dazzling pageant is presented. You know how 
vast and sublime is the amphitheatre which is spread out 
beneath and around you, as you stand on the summit of 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 287 

a lofty mountain ; how all this grandeur is mellowed by 
distance into exquisite beauty ; and how something im- 
mense and infinite transports the soul, as you gaze in 
silence upon the azure pomp and purple glories of the 
illimitable panorama. Now, through the dizzy illusions 
of the imagination, the Tempter can thus dilate and in- 
toxicate the heart with the charms and fascinations of 
the world. 

When we come down to real life, we soon confess, in- 
deed, that pleasure, and wealth, and honor cannot satisfy 
the wants of our nature. Whatever enjoyment they af- 
ford is stinted, and we turn away disappointed and dis- 
gusted. But the resources of imagination are exhaust- 
less, and by these the passions can be inflamed with the 
most extravagant hopes and promises. By this wonder- 
ful faculty our desires and appetites, however jaded and 
languid, can be incessantly irritated and stimulated. And 
no matter how we fly from the dangerous objects, its ab- 
sence is more fatal than its presence ; for fancy presents 
it to the heart clothed in a thousand fictitious attrac- 
tions, against which reason and experience seek in vain, 
to fortify us. 

Oh, deplorable condition of man ! The most royal 
of all his endowments exposes him to a degradation 
unsearchable and infinite. The very attribute which, 
in its creative magnificence, seems .almost divine, and 
which ought to spurn all the debasing objects of earth, 
may be pressed into the service of the Tempter, and be- 
come the most fatal instrument of our destruction. By 
this faculty the seductions addressed to the senses are 



288 THE saviour's temptation. 

invested with an energy which often mocks to scorn 
the cries of conscience and the counsels of wisdom. By 
its influence the intellect is disordered; truth, reason, 
honor, religion are subverted. Above all, the heart — it 
is in the heart that the seducer establishes his firmest 
empire by the magical sorcery of the imagination. The 
heart can never long be captivated by any actual pleas- 
ure of sin ; it is soon undeceived and satiated ; it soon 
finds something bitter bubbling up even from the midst 
of the fountain. But imaginary pleasures have no 
alloy, and are boundless. Under their spell the heart is 
exalted exceedingly high above the earth ; revels in deli- 
cious dreams and reveries ; and is enchanted with pros- 
pects in which all that is rough and rugged is softened 
into velvet smoothness — while on every side, all over the 
glowing expanse — illusion is heaped upon illusion, phan- 
tom rises upon phantom, until in the horizon the warm- 
est hues of heaven are blended with the loveliest tints of 
earth. 

Speaking of " false apostles, deceitful workers, trans- 
forming themselves into the apostles of Christ/' Paul 
says, " And no marvel, for Satan himself is transformed 
into an angel of light." In the first two temptations it 
is not improbable that the demon assumed the form of 
a friend and counsellor ; for his suggestions were most 
artfully and hypocritically framed. And as one of the 
mysterious conditions of Christ's humanity was, that he 
should grow in that knowledge which belongs to human 
life — as this was a part of his self-renunciation, and was 
necessary if temptation and suffering were to exert all 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 289 

their force upon him — it is also probable that, while 
Satan had not discovered his Lord and God in the Being 
before him, so Jesus had not detected the lying prince 
of impostors. This first answer was a strong but kind 
rebuke of the falsehood, which asserts that so precious a 
boon as life can be imparted by any creature. The 
second was more sharp, as the effrontery of the tempta- 
tion was greater ; still it was but the language of holy 
indignation. In this last onset the Tempter no longer 
disguises himself, he openly proclaims himself to be " the 
God of this world." And now the Eedeemer — recog- 
nizing the Prince of Darkness whose works he had come 
to destroy — instantly smites him with a command which 
at once puts him to flight, and terminates the encoun- 
ter. " Then said Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan ; 
for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, 
Und him only shalt thou serve." 

From this hour, as we have said, Satan knew Jesus : • 
and this answer achieved one of the most critical and 
decisive victories for the kingdom of Christ. The Arch- 
Apostate's throne here felt a blow which shook all the 
foundations of his empire. And let us, my brethren, 
never forget that, if we are to triumph over temptation, 
especially over this last and most intense assault of the 
God of this world, we must adopt this answer, and Wear 
it as the motto shining upon our helmet and breastplate 
and shield and sword. Every temptation seeks to dis- 
pute our loyalty to God. But it is when Satan rein- 
forces the passions by inflaming the imagination* that he 
attempts utterly to degrade and enslave us ; then he 

13 



290 THE saviour's temptation. 

• 

says, " This will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and 
worship me." 

" If thou wilt fall down/' If thou wilt debase thy 
reason, and imbrute thy nature, and prostrate faith, 
truth, all the noble attainments of the soul, and, in- 
stead of lifting thy heart to heaven, degrade all thy 
hojoes and aspirations, and become the victim of wild 
and visionary and delirious dreams and phantasms. "If 
thou wilt fall down and worship me." If thou wilt 
surrender the vigor of thy soul, the power of thy intel- 
lect, the spiritual glory and harmony of thy being, and 
do homage to delusion and falsehood, and say to the 
Father of lies, Thou art my God, " Worship me." 
Ponder these solemn words, my brethren. Eecollect 
that to worship a God is not to erect material temples 
and altars to him ; this may be done where there is no 
adoration. To secure his power over one of the divis- 
ions of the Holy Land, the King of Assyria filled the 
province with a colony from the various natioDS of his 
empire. Of these emigrants it is said, " So these na- 
tions feared the Lord, and served their graven images." 
And, now, the God of this world hath filled that king- 
dom of Christ, the subjects of which ought to be spir- 
itual worshippers, with his own subjects, who honor 
God with outward forms, while their hearts .still cling 
to their old hereditary idols. True worship is the love 
and loyalty of the soul, and this Satan directly claims 
whenever he spreads before the passions the delirious 
and infinite seductions of the imagination. 

Remember this. And remember the sure word by 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 291 

which the incarnate Son humbled and forever defeated 
the Tempter — that original truth which is the founda- 
tion of all religion — treason against which plunged the 
"devil and his angels" into bottomless perdition — the 
clear assertion of which will frustrate all his tempta- 
tions. Eemember that word with which your Captain 
triumphed, and with which, as with the tried armor 
worn by him in the conflict, he equips you. " Get thee 
hence, Satan ; for it is written. Thou shalt worship the 
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve/' I will 
not parley with thee, I will not suffer thy vile and 
blasphemous solicitations. God is my portion, my soul's 
delight, my everlasting joy ; to him alone is my homage 
due ; to him I consecrate all my passions and affections ; 
from him i receive true happiness now ; with him I shall, 
through all eternity, rejoice in perfect .purity and love 
and blessedness. 

Had I time I would be glad to speak of the angel- 
ministry which the conqueror received, directly after the 
victory. " Then the devil leaveth him, and behold 
angels came and ministered unto him." Thus it ever is. 
Never are we faithful in resisting temptation without 
knowing angel- visits, celestial joys poured into our 
hearts, the peace of God which passeth understanding 
breathed into our souls. It is the Victor himself who 
says, " To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the 
hidden manna." Not only up yonder — but here — the 
conquering Christian has his rewards. The spiritual re- 
freshments which his Eedeemer tasted, he tastes wdien 
the discomfited Tempter leaves him, and he exclaims, 



292 the saviour's temptation. 

" Blessed be the Lord, my strength which teacheth my 
hands to war and my fingers to fight ; my goodness and , 
my fortress ; my high tower and my deliverer ; my shield 
and he in whom I trust/' 

III. But I must sacrifice much which my heart 
prompts me to say, and hasten to a conclusion. The 
conflict ended, conqueror and conquered leave the field. 
Let us, however, not leave this field, let us linger here a 
moment, and hear the admonitions of the place. 

And first, 'my beloved brethren, let us learn the true 
character of this world. We often say that it is a wil- 
derness, but this is not all the truth ; the world is a 
wilderness into which we are led to be tempted of the 
devil. If Jesus became like us, w r e must become like 
him ; he was u tempted as we are." There is a most 
solemn and startling warning in that admonition of the 
Saviour, " Watch and pray that ye enter not into temp- 
tation ; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." 
This short, emphatic sentence was uttered, you remem- 
ber, in G-ethsemane, on that night which is distinguished 
as " the hour of the Power of Darkness." 

After his signal defeat in the first assault, it is said, 
" the devil departed from him for a season." This ex- 
pression implies that he would again return ; and the 
admonition in the garden shows with what fury he was 
exhausting all his power upon the humanity of the God- 
man — now no longer hoping for victory, but seeking re- 
venge. When Jesus said, " The spirit indeed is willing, 
but the flesh is weak," he referred not only to our flesh, 
but to his own. He was warning his disciples in all 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 2 ( j3 

ages by his own deep, humiliating, painful experience. 
It was just before the scene in Gethsemane that he said, 
" The Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in 
rne." The devil was approaching for his final attack ; 
but, as at the first, so now, he would find no evil in him. 
Temptation never arose in his flesh as in ours, but it 
came to his flesh ; and he uttered that intense complaint 
of the weakness of Xi flesh" in the midst of his sharp 
temptation, and alluding not merely to his drowsy dis- 
ciples, but to his own humanity which was so wasted by 
the struggle, that "an angel appeared strengthening 
him." ' 

Brethren, what is to become of us without vigilance 
and prayer ? The same Tempter who tried the Be- 
deemer, afterwards " sought to have" Peter, and is seek- 
ing to have us. Let us not foolishly hope to escape his 
assaults ; and, if such was his power over perfect human- 
ity, what Mil it be over ours ? Let us not be " ignor- 
ant of his devices." " Be sober, be vigilant, because 
your 'adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh 
about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist stead- 
fast in the faith." Have a care lest, as he tempted 
Christ to cast himself down by saying, " It is written," 
so he ruin you, as he has ruined thousands, by whisper- 
ing, " It is written, The spirit indeed is willing, but the 
flesh is weak." Eemember, it is written again, " Watch 
and pray." That alarming truth as to the weakness of 
the flesh was uttered, not to lull, but to rouse and arm 
us. Tou have read what quaint old Adams relates of 
the peasant and the lord bishop. Being reproved for 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 

profanity, the prelate replied, " I do not swear as a 
hop, hut as a lord." " And when the lord shall he in 
hell for blasphemy," said the peasant, "what will be- 
come of the bishop ?" Apply this to yourself ; when 
templed -to use Christ'^ solemn admonition, as a plea 
for sin. When your " flesh" is in hell for deeds of dark- 
ness, what will hecome of your " spirit ?" 

This narrative teaches us to Sxpect the enemy in 
seasons of want, of reverses in business, of distress and 
trial. He is sure to come then. But especially does it 
warn us to he on our guard, when upon pinnacles and 
high mountains. Quell the ambition which is ever seek- 
ing to climb. We cannot bear much elevation, without 
being dizzy and bewildered. Humble ground is the only 
safe ground. Eeposing in the valley, no evil spirits ap- 
proached the pilgrim of Bethel, but the angels of G-od 
visited and refreshed his weary soul. Christians, high 
places are ever dangerous. Seek nojfc high places, but 
rejoice that you have a' hiding place. Abide there and 
be safe. 

The second inference from our subject is, the grand- 
eur of the human soul. It is for this soul that Satan 
and his angels employ ail their powers ; and for this 
soul Christ and his hosts are engaged. When two 
mighty nations wage unrelenting war ; when they en- 
list armies and equip fleets — concentrating their resour- 
ces, and encountering each other in the fierce shock of 
battle after battle — we feel that some important interest 
is at stake. Consider what must be the worth of the 
soul. Two worlds dispute its possession. Oh, when all 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 295 

heaven and hell are thus in commotion, thus intensely 
eager about your soul ; can you, my dear hearer, be un- 
concerned ? 

"What is the thing of greatest price, 
The whole creation round ? 
That which was lost in Paradise, 
That which in Christ is found. 

The soul of man — Jehovah's bfeath — 

It keeps two worlds in strife ; 
Hell works beneath its work of death, 

Heaven stoops to give it life. 

And is this treasure borne below, 

In earthly vessels frail ? 
Can none its utmost value know, 

Till flesh and spirit fail? 

Then let us gather round the Cross, 

That knowledge to obtain, 
"Not by the soul's eternal loss, 

But everlasting gain." 

And this suggests a third reflection. The faithful 
Christian is the true hero. If angels came and min- 
istered to the Saviour, what must be their delight, when 
they witness the triumphs of those who are so weak in 
themselves, but who, through Christ, are more than 
conquerors ? " The world knoweth us not because it 
knew him not ;" the disciples of Christ are often re- 
garded by the men of this world, as narrow-minded and 
weak and mean-spirited. But in the light of truth, 
what heroism like theirs ? What enemies so formidable 



296 THE saviour's temptation. 

as those which the Christian boldly encounters ? " We 
wrestle not against flesh and blood but against princi- 
palities, against powers, against the rulers of the dark- 
ness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high 
places/' How contemptible the brute courage which 
storms a city, or rushes headlong upon the bayonet — 
a courage or rather ferocity, in which the lion and tiger 
and bull-dog are far superior to man, and which is often 
the mere recklessne^i of vice — how despicable this, when 
compared with that true courage which stems a torrent 
of evil example ; which dares to do right in the face of 
opposition and persecution ; which spurns power and 
menace and death for principle ; which aspires not after 
earthly fame, but after immortal honor and glory. The 
faithful Christian is the real hero. Marshalled armies 
are insects compared with the foes whom he defeats. 
The forlorn hope, the deadly breach, the shout, the 
charge, the deafening tumult of hosts glittering in steel 
and maddened by the clangor of martial strains — -all 
this is puerile, in comparison with that silent life-long 
battle in which he is engaged. The world despises the 
Christian ; but the Christian looks with surj>rise and 
pity on the world. He knows that the hour is fast com- 
ing when a far more exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory will be his ; and when shame and everlasting con- 
tempt shall overwhelm the splendid sinners who have 
glittered on the pages of history. 

One more thought. It is the consolation we may de- 
rive from this discourse. Was Jesus thus -ten^ted ? 
Then let us not be surprised nor dejected, if sorS ternpta- 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 297 

tions assail us. " The disciple is not above his Master, 
nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough" (honor 
enough, consolation enough,) " for the disciple that he be 
as his Master, and the servant as his Lord." Was Je- 
sus "in all points tempted like as we are?" Then let 
us be assured of his sympathy and succor when we are 
tempted. He has felt the stern discipline of the wilder- 
ness, and the pinnacle, and the mountain top ; and he 
knows how to succor us there. "He is faithful who will 
not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able ; but 
will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, 
that we may bear it." 

Nor will he only strengthen us to bear it. He will 
" bruise Satan under our feet." Human sympathy cannot 
aid us in the hour of temptation ; but Jesus is not only 
" touched," he gives " grace to help in time of need." 
When Satan wished to destroy Job, he found himself 
pierced by a "hedge" which Grod had placed around his 
servant. When he sought to have Peter to " sift him 
as wheat," he was baffled by that ever-watchful Guard- 
ian, who prayed for that weak disciple, that his faith 
should not fail. Like his Master, Paul was three times 
painfully buffeted by the arts of the Tempter ; but in 
each conflict he heard a voice assuring.his soul, and say- 
ing, " My grace is sufficient for thee." 

And thus shall it ever be. Let us never parley nor 
seek by compliance and worldly wisdom to conquer the 
whispering demon ; this would be Satan casting out Sa- 
tan. We cannot cast out devils by Beelzebub ; but let 
us imitate him who is our great example. Let us bring 

13* 



THE SAVIOUR'S TEMPTATION. 

every temptation at once to the word of God ; and 
whether it assail us in the desert, or on the -pinnacle, or 
mountain summit — in adversity or prosperity — we shall 
a i once expose its fraud and treachery. My beloved 
brethren, does God ever promise his people ease, pleas- 
ure, riches, honors in this world ? No, he warns us that 
to make them the objegt of our lives will be to lose our 
souls. If the Tempter could lift us to the highest sum- 
mits, and give us the kingdoms of this world and all 
their glory, we would soon have to come down, and a 
few boards for a coffin, a few feet of earth for a grave, 
would bg all we could possess, while in eternity we 
should sink into the abysses of fire. Like our adorable 
Redeemer, let us habitually hold fast to that sure word 
which the Tempter cannot resist, and by which "the 
Prince of this world is judged/' Let us worship God 
alone, throning him in our hearts. Thus shall we " be 
able to stand against the wiles of the devil/' Thus shall 
" we resist the devil and he will flee from us/' And 
thus shall be fulfilled in us that promise, " Because thou 
hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee 
from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon the 
world to try them that dwell upon the earth/' 



SERMON XL . 

JACOB'S LADDER. 

" And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the 
top of it reached to heaven ; and behold the angels of G-od ascending and. 
descending on it." — G-enesis, xxviii. 12. 

Our ministry is a ministry of love ; satire, invective, 
find irony do not become the pulpit. If, however, these 
weapons could ever be legitimately used, it would be 
against a class of men who, if the Bible were left to them, 
would long since have made it the most ridiculous of all 
books ; I allude to those preachers who pique themselves 
on their skill in the science of spiritualizing everything. 

With them, Samson and his three hundred foxes are 
designed to illustrate some of the profoundest mysteries 
of the faith. If Jeremiah is drawn up out of a pit with 
" old cast clouts and rotten rags under the cords/' they 
find here- a symbol of the sinner, who is a prisoner of 
hope, and is drawn by the cords of grace, which hide the 
filthy rags of his self-righteousness. If Jesus mentions 
w mint, anise and cummin," these people at once open 
their eyes at words so full of meaning ; they examine 
different writers to know how and where these plants 
grow, and what are their qualities : and are surprised 



300 Jacob's ladder. 

that everybody does not see in the bitterness of two of 
these herbs and the sweetness of the other, striking em- 
blems of the justice, holiness, and mercy of God. If the 
disciples say, "Lord, behold here are two swords/' they 
detect symbols of which the uninitiated could never 
dream ; one sword is the law, which is " quick and pow- 
erful and sharper than a two-edged sword ;" the other is 
the gospel, as to the effects of which Jesus declares, that 
he has come u 'not to send peace, but a sword/' Peter 
•sniites Malchus, cutting off his right ear, and in this act 
we see nothing but the rash zeal peculiar to that Apostle. 
But these evangelists smile at our simplicity ; for Mal- 
chus was a Jew, and this destruction of his ear was a 
plain portent of the judgment about to fall upon thai 
nation, by which, as Isaiah foretold, their " ears should 
be stopped that they might not hear the word." And 
Christ's healing the ear, shows that spiritual hearing shall 
one day be restored to Israel. As for Solomon's temple, 
there is no end to the secrets, the marvels, the mysteries, 
the deep enigmas it contains ; nor is there a window, or 
chapiter, or candlestick, or knop, or flower, or lintel, or 
post, or saw, or hammer, or nail, or cup, or dish, or spoon, 
or pair of snuffers, in which these interpreters do not 
discover more gospel than they can find in the great 
commission itself. 

We cannot too sternly reprobate this impertinent 
and impious foolery ; but we must have a care lest we 
go to the opposite extreme. The chimeras of these vis- 
ionaries are, after all, less deplorable than the cold freez- 
ing metaphysics of those theologians who see no spirit- 



JACOB'S LADDER. 301 

ual signification in the emblems and types of the Bible, 
and who^an scarcely conceal an affected fastidiousness 
which is shocked at the use made by the Apostles, and 
the Saviour himself, of the figures found in the Old Tes- 
tament. 

These remarks have beeii naturally suggested by the 
text. This vision of Jacob has, no doubt, given rise to 
vagaries and extravagancies ; but, for all that, it has 
plainly a very important mystical import. That the 
ladder was an emblem of Christ, we know certainly ; we 
have this truth from his own lips. I sometimes think 
how small a Bible Adam had ; and tTesus was the Alpha 
and Omega of that little Bible. Page after page w T as 
soon added to that first revelation of the promised " Seed 
of the woman ;" but still Christ was all and in all. 
Moses, the Psalms, the Prophets, all testified of him, 
until we come down to Malachi, when - the whole East 
is laced and glowing with the approach of the Sun of 
Bighteousness. 

With reference to Jacob's ladder, we have not only 
intimations, but the Saviour's own direct interpretation. 
In the first chapter of John's Gospel, he says, " Here- 
after ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God 
ascending and descending upon the Son of man." Else- 
where he declares, " I am the way. No man cometh 
unto the Father but by me." Here, in language most 
explicit, he applies the image of Jacob's ladder to him- 
self. 

We cannot be mistaken, therefore, as to our under- 
standing of this vision. It is delightful to think how 



302 Jacob's ladder. 

familiar God used to be with patriarch and prophet ; and 
in divers manners lie was accustomed, in timet* past, to 
speak unto the fathers. During the patriarchal dispen- 
sation he sometimes taught men by dreams. " Now a 
thing was secretly brought to me, and my ear received a 
little thereof in thoughts from the visions of the night, 
when deep sleep falleth upon man." In this appearance 
at Bethel Jehovah intended to teach Jacob lessons of 
great value. And the question for us is, what are these 
lessons ? 

I. Now, in explaining this vision, observe, my breth- 
ren, what is very instructive, that the type is a ladder. 
Some stilted expositors have, indeed, been offended by 
the homeliness of the image ; for such an august occa- 
sion they would prefer a crystal column, a flight of jas- 
per steps, or a pyramid of diamond. But this is poor 
and pitiful. It is the same spirit which is displeased 
with the revelation of God to Moses in a burning bush, 
regarding the cedar of Lebanon as a more dignified and 
appropriate dwelling-place for the Eternal. Men of this 
stamp would have the Apostles never appear except on 
the stage, moving majestically in buskins. Not content 
with being pedants themselves, they would make pedants 
and coxcombs of Patriarchs and Prophets and Apostles ; 
and would have God never speak to his children but in 
hexameters and pompous grandiloquence. 

The appearance is a ladder ; and, now, the dullest 
of comprehension must at once feel that one mournful 
truth is here taught. We are plainly reminded by this 
emblem that the natural normal communication between 



Jacob's ladder. 303 

God and man has been destroyed ; and that, by the fall, 
this planet has, been placed in a state of isolation and 
non-intercourse with heaven. 

Had there never existed a delightful communion 
between earth and heaven, or if such communion, once 
established, had never been interrupted, why, then, the 
type would lose much of its significancy ; in that case 
the figure would want much of the singular accuracy 
found in the mystical representations of the sacred Vol- 
ume. But knowing, as we do,, the melancholy history 
of our race ; remembering that in God's government, 
sin is not only a crime but a crisis, changing altogether 
the condition of the culprit, severing him from all affin- 
ity with Jehovah except that of wrath and destruction 
— how expressive,, how exact the image. A ladder, why 
is a ladder required ? It is because the natural, proper 
passage way is broken up. There is a cry of fire ; you 
hasten, to the spot, and see a ladder placed against a 
window and the inmates escaping by its aid. You com- 
prehend at a glance the true state of things ; you know 
that the flames have reached the stairway, and«that all 
access and retreat by that avenue are cut off. And 
then, too, when is a ladder employed ? It is in a press- 
ing emergency, as in the case of the burning house above 
supposed ; the ladder with the family descending upon 
it tells its own story ; the fire has made great headway, 
and there is a necessity for precipitate flight. 

You feel, then, the first truth taught us by this vis- 
ion ; you see the curse in which humanity is involved 
by sin. Nor let us only read the calamity in this 



304 Jacob's ladder. 

faithful imagery ; let us pause and reflect on the jus- 
tice and tearfulness of such a doom. Yes, my brethren, 
this banishment is just ; for how could God, how could 
angels, have held intercourse with this earth ? Guilty 
as man is, "alienated by wicked works/' leagued with 
the devil and his angels in open revolt, ten thousand 
sins with ten thousand aggravations gathered on his 
soul, ten thousand corruptions festering and rankling in 
his heart and filling it with enmity — how could Jeho- 
vah, how could holy intelligences, have any alliance, any 
association with such a being ? No, the majesty of that 
law behind which are entrenched the safety and hap- 
piness of the universe must be asserted, and this de- 
manded the banishment of a race thus desperately wick- 
ed and depraved. The order, the peace, the purity, the 
morality of God's empire must be preserved, and this 
required that the infected district should be marked off 
and isolated to arrest the farther spread of the pesti- 
lence. 

The -sentence is just. If men perish, this confession 
will be # extorted from them, while " they gnaw their 
tongues and blaspheme the God of heaven ;" and upon 
the throne of eternal truth and holiness there will be 
reflected an awful lustre even from the flames of hell. 
And this sentence is not more ju£t than it is fearful. 
A world without God ! oh, what a forlorn, forsaken, 
fatherless world. A world without God ! what must be 
the doom of such a world ? for to be severed from God 
is to be cut off from all light and life and love, it is to 
be shrouded in darkness, to be in approximation to eter- 



Jacob's ladder. 305 

nal death, to be in contact with destruction — with the 
blackness of despair, with weeping and wailing forever. 
In a word, " without God!" a world without God! — 
well does the Apostle say, that this is to be " without 
hope/' Smitten with inner central insupportable sol- 
itude, this bereavement, compared with wdiich all other 
penury — the loss of health, friends, property, is only an 
external and insignificant disaster — thus stricken and 
desolate, where can the heart turn for hope ? where 
find one ray of consolation ? Jacob as he is now before 
us, guilty, an exile from his father's house, with night 
and danger all around, what is he but a representative 
of our ruined race ? nor can I help thinking that God 
chose to console him with the gospel then, because he 
w r as an emblem of humanity in its benighted and hope- 
less condition. But how faint the emblem — how inade- 
quate any image even the most emphatic — to depict the 
gloom and lonesomeness and dreariness and dismalness 
of a world ttus disinherited, of souls thus orphaned and 
outcast. 

II. Having considered the first truth taught by this 
vision, let us now pass to the second, let us examine the 
medium which God provides to renew this intercourse, 
to reestablish this alliance between earth and heaven. 

We have spoken of a disruption, of a chasm such 
as no thunder ever rifted, and over this abyss angel 
thojights must have often hovered in grief and dis- 
may. And, non , .can this breach never be healed ? is 
this yawning gulf forever impassable ? Can no skill 
construct, no virtue, no prayers, win a path of return for 



306 JACOB'S LADDER. 

a single soul ? Must all hope for man be forever buried 
in despair ? To these questions human reason could 
have given but one answer. Human reason, did I say ? 
Cherub and seraj>h must have shuddered as they gazed 
at the rent sin had made ; and ; recalling a frightful 
tragedy among the celestial hierarchies, they must have 
felt that for man all was " lost" — not in danger of being; 
lost — but lost, the soul lost, heaven lost, hope lost, all 
lost, and lost forever. ■ . 

But blessed be God, hosannah to his grace ; ever- 
lasting praises to him who came " to seek and to save 
that which was lost/' these questions have been answered, 
and so answered that angels are lost in pondering such 
mercy. Eternal wisdom and power and love have solved 
the problem, and solved it by consecrating for us " a 
new and living way/' " God so loved the world" — why 
he loved it, I know not — but he loved it — he " so loved 
the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- 
soever believeth on him should not perish but have ever- 
lasting life." The canopy once black with midnight and 
tempest, broken only by red' lightnings, now bends over 
us in clear azure beauty and brightness. The heavens 
which were brass and iron are opened — " a door is opened 
in heaven" — and down, down to earth, down to the very 
feet of the exile, and by God's own hand, a ladder is 
lowered. A ladder, and upon it angels ready to aid and 
guard. and quicken the weak and fainting children of 
earth ; while at the top is, God himself, looking down in 
infinite tenderness and compassion, beckoning every poor 
wretched wanderer to come home. Nor is there upon 



JACOB'S LADDER. 307 

the eartli a thing so guilty and undone that he may not 
come and climb and live. Though he be the outcast of 
society, though father and mother forsake him, though 
he be " the devil's castaway/' yet the foot of the ladder 
is near him. " Let him hot, in dark despondency, say 
within himself, " Who shall ascend into heaven to bring 
down a Saviour from above for me ?" or, " Who shall 
descend into the deep where I have sunk myself, to de- 
liver me from the horrible pit ?" for the word is nigh 
him, even in his heart antl in his mouth, even the word 
of faith which we preach, and the assurance is his that 
if he cometh he shall in no wise be cast out. 

We have already shown, from the Saviour's own in- 
terpretation, that the ladder in this vision was a type of 
himself, and, now, glancing at this emblem, see how 
much instruction it conveys as to the great expedient of 
the gospel, " Christ and him crucified." 

In the first place, observe that God, not man, is the 
architect of this ladder. Jacob did nothing — could do 
nothing — towards its construction. And so, my breth- 
ren, if we u have boldness to enter into the holiest," it 
is u not by works of righteousness w T hich we have done," 
but " by the blood of Jesus." The " new and living 
way consecrated for us" is not through our merits, but 
" through his flesh." We are invited to "come boldly," 
not because we have no sin, but because "we have a 
High Priest." 

Mark, in the next place, the form and position of 
this ladder ; its foot is planted on the earth, and its top 
reaches to heaven. What a striking emblem this of 



308 Jacob's ladder. 

that Being whose name is "Wonderful;" who was an 
" Infant/' and yet " the Everlasting Father ;" " the 
brightness of the Father's glory/' yet "found in fashion 
as a»man ;" " in the beginning with God, and God/' 
but " when the fulness of the time was come, made of a 
woman ;" in whom the finite and infinite are blended, 
time combined with eternity, divinity with humanity. 

Suppose this ladder had reached to heaven, but had 
not rested on the earth, what could it have availed to 
console this patriarch ? And so, vainly will you seek to 
comfort the burdened soul by descanting on the perfec- 
tions of a God in heaven. It is not God in heaven, 
"but God in Christ," who reconciles sinners to him- 
self — banishing their guilty fears and assuring them of 
pardon and sympathy. It is only in Jesus that God is 
intelligible or amiable ; out of Christ he is a terrible 
incomprehensibility.. " Sir, I have no notion of God," 
said the sick woman to Mr. Cecil. " You talk to^me 
about him, but I cannot get a single idea that seems- to 
contain anything." "But you know how to conceive of 
'Jesus Christ as a man ; God comes down to you in him, 
full of kindness and condescension." "Ah," sir,' that 
gives me something to lay hdld on. There I can rest, I 
understand God in his Son." 

Or another hypothesis. Suppose the bottom of the 
ladder had been on the earth, yet, if the summit had 
not reached to heaven, what solace could it have im- 
parted to Jacob ? Had the medium risen only midway 
between the earth and sky, had it not cleft the clouds of 
mortality and towered up to God himself— why then the 



Jacob's ladder. 309 

whole fabric would have been a mockery ; nor would the 
seer have beon filled with the awe and love and adoration 
which caused him to build an altar, and offer sacrifice, 
exclaiming, " This is none other than the house of God, 
this is the gate of heaven/' And just so, had Jesus 
been only a man, or a divine humanity as some tell us. 
" His teachings, his perfect example" — very well, but I 
want something more than instruction and an example 
which only convinces me of my guilt and unholiness. I 
want a way of return and recovery, and Jesus says, " I 
am the way ; no man can come to the Father but by me." 
I know that the way of direct and independent access to 
God is forever closed by my sins, and the mysterious in- 
terval between an offended lawgiver and offending man 
Jesus fills up. He can be a mediator. He is the lad- 
der having in itself " no form nor comeliness," its base 
deposing in an humble sequestered valley, but its top 
soaring up until it is lost in those splendors, inac- 
cessible, insufferable to man, amidst which Jehovah 
dwells. • 

The deity and humanity of Christ ; a deity as dis- 
tinct from his humanity as was the summit from the foot 
of the mystical structure revealed to Jacob, and yet as 
inseparable ; for how any one can miss seeing that such 
a life and character did not belong to a mere man, must 
be accounted for only by the warping p>ower of pride and 
prejudice. 

A third truth taught by this remarkable vision is the 
freeness of salvation by Jesus. What conditions are here 
interposed ? What fitness ? What works ? Between 



310 Jacob's ladder, 

God and man there is one mediator, Jesus Christ ; but 
between that mediator and man there is, there can be, 
none. " Stand out of my way," I say to church or priest 
who would interfere between Christ and my soul. Con- 
dition and qualification would mar the whole thing in 
the very outset. Had the ladder only approached the 
earth, and Jacob been required to reach it by a bound, 
or by his own craft and labor to build a tower and climb 
to the first round — why, then, there might be some 
countenance given to that language of Ashdod which 
we sometimes hear, that Babel confusion of speech with 
which men are always afflicted who think to merit heaven 
in part by works, forgetting that "if it be works it is not 
grace, if it be of grace it is no more works." Not such 
was the ladder, and not such is the salvation by Christ. 
No, his work is perfect. All his works are perfect, even 
the smallest flower gushing up under your feet in the^ 
early spring ; and shall not salvation, his masterpiece, 
be perfect ? It is a great salvation, and great in this, 
that its height, and length, and brgadth, and depth, com- 
pass all the emergencies of our ruin. " Him hath God 
set forth to be the propitiation for our sins/' and all now 
required is, that we receive him by faith, that, like the 
climber on the ladder, we turn our backs to the earth, 
our faces to heaven, confiding ourselves to him who is 
able to keep that which we have committed to him, 
"able to keep us from falling, and to present us fault- 
less before the presence of his glory with exceeding 

joy." 

You see, then, the absolute freeness of salvation. 



Jacob's ladder. 311 

Away with terms and requirements, which would for- 
ever discourage the soul, just in proportion to the light 
shed in upon it for its conviction and conversion to God, 
and which make Jesus only a half Saviour — nay no Sa- 
viour at all. But while this is so, let no one flatter him- 
self by living in carelessness and sin, and calling that 
trusting in Christ. If the lessons already mentioned are 
taught by this vision, there is one. more truth which it 
utters with even greater distinctness, and this is, the im- 
possibility of salvation to the fearful, the unbelieving, 
the indolent, the disobedient. * 

A ladder, and such a ladder — running thus steeply 
up from earth to heaven — tell me not that the timid and 
faint-hearted can ever win up there. If ever a stout 
heart, ah intrepid faith, a resolute, unrelaxing grasp, 
and a steady foot be needed, it is when mounting this 
perilous ascent. 

A ladder, and such a ladder — how expressly are we 
admonished that " without Christ we can do nothing ;" 
that no strength, no prayers, no diligence, no efforts can 
avail, unless with a single eye and an entire recumbency 
of soul we cling to him. If the climber adhere not to 
the ladder, if he deviate one hair's breadth on either side, 
he plants his foot on air, and his own weight sends him 
sheer down below. 

In a word, the necessity of constant climbing — of not 
only casting the soul on the great atonement — but of 
rising above the world, above our ease and sloth, and 
cleaving to Christ in unremitting and self-denying obe- 
dience, thus taking heaven by storm and violence — how 



312 Jacob's ladder. 

vividly is all this set forth in the sign which the patri- 
arch saw. The first step on the ladder — what is it ? 
Faith in Christ, faith which turns from sinful self, and 
righteous self, and ventures wholly upon him ; this is 
conversion. But conversion is only the beginning of that 
life by which every man must press into the kingdom. 
" I looked after Christian/' says Bunyan, " to see him 
go up the hill, when I perceived he fell from running to 
going, and from going to clambering upon his hands and 
knees, because of the steepness of the place/' And thus 
toilsomely and laboriously it fares with him who mounts 
this ladder. But up he must go, round after round. No 
transient emotions, no spasmodic zeal will do here ; he 
must "hold on his way" steadily, incessantly. There 
must be no pausing, much less looking back or~descend- 
ing. Every weight, every entanglement must be laid 
'aside,, and upwards, still upwards, patiently and slowly, 
but bravely and staunchly he must on — now quickening 
his zeal with thoughts of the fiery abyss beneath him if 
he fall or " draw back unto perdition ;" now inflaming 
his ardor by anticipations of that glory which is to be 
revealed to him and in him, the far more exceeding; and 
eternal weight of glory ; above all, glancing his eye up- 
ward to Him who stands at the top, bending on him the 
light of his countenance, renewing his strength, recruit- 
ing his courage, replenishing his aspirations, and refresh- 
ing all his soul with celestial joys as he cries, " Fight the 
good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life," " be thou 
faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life." 
" Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they 



JACOB'S LADDER. 313 

| 

may have a right to the tree of life ; and may enter in 
through the gates into the city." 

III. We have thus seen that the ladder on which 
Jacob gazed was a type of Christ, of the mysterious in- 
terference by which heaven and earth are reconciled. It 
is not, however, only in this district of God's moral do- 
minion that so wonderful an interposition is the subject 
of intense and adoring interest. On this ladder the pa- 
triarch saw an order of beings far superior to man. From 
top to bottom it swarmed with radiant cherubim and 
seraphim, " the angels of God ascending and descending/' 
And it is to this last feature in the vision that I ask 
your attention for a moment. 

In the passage already quoted from John's Gospel, 
Jesus refers to this revelation in language yet obscure to 
us, but which we shall, beyond doubt, one day find to 
be a prophecy full of beautiful meaning. In his conver- 
sation with Nathaniel, he says, " Verily I say unto you, 
hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God 
ascending and descending upon the Son of man." The 
true interpretation of these words I do not pretend to 
give. Nothing is less to be envied than the confidence 
with which some men speak upon subjects which they 
do not understand. There is here, however, one truth 
clearly disclosed — a truth which we find not in isolated 
passages only, but pervading the sacred Books — it is the 
deep solicitude felt for man and his redemption by all 
the inhabitants of heaven. 

Of these angels, their power, number, glory, I will 
not now speak. A single angel seen by John " lightened 

14 



314 Jacob's ladder. 

the whole earth/' and they are " an innumerable com- 
pany/' Far off, my brethren, far removed from mortal 
vision, there is a society of whose purity and love and 
blessedness we can form no conception. And the single 
point I now notice is, the sympathy with which the 
members of that celestial community regard our race. 
Nor can we be at any loss to account for this sympathy. 
At man's creation these morning stars sang together, I 
and all these sons of God shouted for joy. While man 
remained unfallen, there were the sweetest intimacies : 
between them and him. Amid the blooming bowers of 
Paradise millions of spiritual creatures walked, singing , 
their great Creator, and loving the tenants of that gar- | 
den with the love of brothers for a younger sister. 

When all intercourse was suspended by the fall, 
when that dirge-like wail was heard, " Sin, gin is in the ; 
world !" who can tell what must have been their emo- 
tions ? If they can weep, they wept bitter tears then. 
Over the mysterious birth-place in Bethlehem they 
swelled their rapturous hymn ; and now, when inter- | 
course is renewed, mark their joy, see how they crowd | 
to earth. Scarcely is the ladder let down, before it gl^t- 
' ters all over with a shining multitude of the heavenly 
hosts. Nor are they mere spectators ; they are busied 
about man — "ascending and descending" — rejoicing 
that by the cross, heaven and earth are again united, ] 
primal harmonies reestablished, pristine communion re- 
stored between their populations, and all things recapit- 
ulated in Jesus ; " that in the dispensation of the ful- j 
ness of times, the Father has gathered together in one 



JACOB S LADDER. 315 

; all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which 

I are on earth" — that "having made peace through the 

\ blood of his cross, God has by Christ reconciled all 

things unto himself whether they be things in earth or 

things in heaven." 

"Ascending and descending ;" exulting that this 
new avenue has been opened ; and, at once, in eager 
bands, pouring down to earth as "ministering spirits to 
minister to them who are heirs of salvation." "De- 
scending ;" coming down to encamp about the righte- 
ous, whether they sleep or wake, and deliver them — a$ 
it is written, " He shall give his angels charge over thee* 
to keep thee in all thy ways, they shall bear thee up in 
their hands lest thou dash thy foot against a stone." 
And "ascending;" now to bear the news of a sinner's 
repentance and send a tide of rapture and gratulation 
along the habitations of heaven ; and now to escort the 
soul of some Lazarus — to guard it from the " Prince of 
the power of the air" who watches like a wolf scared 
from his prey — to guide it on its course, some as strong- 
winged avant couriers, and some as convoys wafting it 
up to realms of peace and purity and love, to the bosom 
of its God. 

IV. There are other reflections suggested by this 
portion of Scripture, but I have already detained you 
long and must finish. Let me conclude by asking, What 
ought to be the effect and fruit of such truths as these ? 
How do Christ and salvation by Christ appear in your 
eyes ? 

In the outset of this discourse, I alluded to the con- 



316 Jacob's ladder. 

ceits of a class of men who plume themselves on their 
gifts for spiritualizing eyery part of the Bible. I need i 
not tell you that, when studying our text, I could easily s 
have indulged in this sort of pastime ; nor is there a 
side or round or pin of this ladder in which I might not 
have discovered marvellous things — fancies, myths, mys- 
teries, mystical, cabalistic secrets, which would have, 
quite astonished you. If I have chosen to treat the 
text differently, if I have preferred to pay some decent 
respect to your intellects and to deal with you as ra- 
tional beings, let me implore you to justify me in this 
course by acting as rational* beings. Do not, my beloved 
friends, do not dismiss this subject from your minds, but - 
let such truths affect yon, constrain you, compel you. 

My unconverted hearers, how much here for you. I 
do not fear lest any of you should be infidels or should 
scoff and ridicule. But I tell you what makes me trem- 
ble for you ; it is your unspeakable peril from neglecting 
this great salvation. Think of the mischiefs produced 
by simple neglect ; scarcely any cause is more prolific 
of evil. Why is that stone wall fallen down, and the 
garden covered with weeds and briars ? It is neglect. I 
Why is this house so dilapidated ? its doors and win- ! 
dows broken, its roof and foundation decaying ? It is 
neglect. That young man rushing headlong to ruin — ; 
what is the baneful cause of his destruction ? His 
parents neglected him w T hen a child. And here is your 
danger. It is high time, my friends, for us to have done 
with that technical, metaphysical theology which one 
half of the world never understood, and of which the 



Jacob's ladder. 317 

! other half is heartily tired, and ; coming to the truth as 
■ it is in Jesus, to see our danger and our duty. Nor in 
, any image of the Old Testament — the brazen serpent 
' perhaps excepted — are our danger and duty more clearly 
set forth than in this vision at Bethel. 

Would you know what you must do to be saved ? 
the first requisite plainly is, that you see this ladder, 
that you " behold the Lamb of G-od," that you turn 
your eyes away from every other medium, to that way 
of return which has been provided by the cross of Christ. 
" Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the 
law, that the man that doeth these things shall live by 
them ; but the righteousness which is of faith speaketh 
on this wise, Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend 
into heaven ? (that is to bring Christ down from above,) 
or Who shall descend into the deep ? (that is to bring 
up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it ? 
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy 
heart, that is the word of faith which we preach, that 
if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, 
and shalt believe in thy heart that God hath raised him 
from the dead thou shalt be saved." 

The first requirement, then, is that we see this lad- 
der. What is "he next ? It is an earnest desire to 
ascend the ladder, a willingness to forsake the world for 
heaven. The ladder does not run horizontally along the 
ground ; we cannot cling to earth and climb the first 
round ; we must leave the world behind and beneath us. 
The third requirement is confidence in the ladder, in its 
strength to sustain us, in the certainty that it reaches to 



318 Jacob's ladder. 

heaven and will bear us safely there. Jesus is " able to 
save to the uttermost all who come unto God by him/' 
no corruption can be too desperate, no guilt too inveter- 
ate or aggravated. " I do not doubt that/' I hear you 
say. Why, then, my dear hearer, why not add the last 
requirement ? Why not come at once to the ladder and 
begin to climb ? u Come unto me/' says Jesus. It is 
heresy and falsehood which would require any qualifi- 
cation for coming to Christ but a sense of your guilti- 
ness and need of him. It is Puseyism and Popery which 
substitute for the cross a ladder of forms and rites and 
sacraments. " Come unto me/' come just as you are, 
and " him that cometh, I will in no wise cast out." 

Come, then, come to this ladder ; for wander the i 
whole earth over, there is no other way by which you 
can mount to heaven. " No man," (no matter how vir- 
tuous and charitable and scrupulous in the exact per- 
formance of what he regards as religious duty,) " no man 
can come unto the Father but by me." .We are "shut 
up unto the faith." There is no choice, no alternative, 
" no other name given under heaven whereby we must 
be saved." Between the sinner and God there is but one 
medium, and, like this solitary ladder, it is an interposi- 
tion of sovereign mercy and grace which stands by itself. 
Ascend this ladder ; for if you refuse, you put away 
from you the only atonement by which you can be par- 
doned, the only righteousness in which you can -be 
accepted. Climb then, and climb now, and climb reso- 
lutely. This moment begin. " My heart is fixed, oh 
God, my heart is fixed," " so will I go, and if I perish, 



Jacob's laddek. 319 

1 1 perish/' Up ! dear friend, up for your life, and tarry 
not ; there is a fearful moral gravitation which draws you 

I to the earth, but you must surmount it. Up ! I know 
you are weak, but it is not your own power, it is the 

J strength of the ladder on which you rely — the strength 
of Jesus which is made perfect in weakness. Up ! fear 
not, for standing above you is one whose hand can reach 
and will sustain you ; and all around you are guardian 
bands. Let it put heart in you to strive and climb, 

"That you are not alone. On either side 
Angels, jour friends, stand guard, 
And these kind spirits wait your course to guide. 
"Why, why should it be hard 
To trust thy Saviour with the soul he gave, 
Him who himself hath died that soul to save?" 

Up ! then, up, while heaven is open, w^hile God is beck- 
oning, while angels are hastening you as they hastened 
Lot out of Sodom. Up ! up ! a perishing necessity is 
on you ; for remember a ladder is only a temporary me- 
dium. This night your soul may be required, and then 
there will be no bridge, no ladder across the great gulf 
forever fixed between you and heaven. If this vision 
conveys important instruction to the unconverted, its 
lessons for the Christian are equally manifest and im- 
portant. Why, my brethren, the very fact that this 
ladder thus unites heaven and earth — this ought surely 
to cause us to have new views of life, its seriousness and 
earnestness, its character and objects. And w r hen we 
rise above the deadening power of this world, and go to 



320 Jacob's ladder. 

Bethel and study the interview between Jehovah and his 
erring servant on that memorable night, we learn truths 
which Jacob forgot and suffered greatly for forgetting, 
but which should he indelibly recorded on our hearts. 

We learn the direct, special, and ever-wakeful re- 
gards of God for his people. Jacob had greatly sinned. 
True, the birthright was designed by God for him, and 
Isaac had wronged him in seeking to bestow, it upon 
Esau. But nothing could justify the fraud which Jacob 
had practised, and he is now cast forth from his home a 
guilty exile. Yet see the compassions of God. Though 
afterwards he chastens the patriarch for his crime, now, 
in this dark and desolate hour, he meets him to comfort 
his drooping souL He opens heaven and shows himself, 
not on the throne of justice, but at the top of a ladder, 
the emblem of friendship and communion ; not frowning 
but smiling ; not sitting but standing, as if ready to 
defend and welcome the conscience-stricken wanderer ; 
sending, not avenging ministers to punish the culprit, 
but legions of angels to make that desert heath populous 
with sympathy and benevolence. 

Upon Jacob, you remember, what was the effect of 
this vision. He devotes himself solemnly to God, build- 
ing an altar, and offering upon it all he has — pouring 
out the oil which his mother, no doubt, had given him 
to support his life on that weary journey towards Haran. 
And should not the love of God in Christ Jesus our 
Lord constrain us to live no more for ourselves, but for 
him who died for us and rose again ? 

Above all, the world, the world — that world which 



JACOB'S LADDER. 321 

so engrosses our thoughts and hides heaven from our 
eyes-»nLa contemplating this vision and its bright revela- 
tions, how ought our affections to be weaned from the 
world and fixed upon things above. Christians, love not 
the world, neither the things that are in the world. Be- 
ware of that unbelieving spirit which caused the Psalmist 
to be " envious at the prosperity of the wicked/' We 
have been gazing with admiration and gratitude upon Ja- 
cob's ladder ; remember the foot of that ladder rested, not 
upon a summit crowned with light, but in a lonely and 
humble valley. It is to the humble and contrite soul that 
Jesus comes and opens heaven. " When the wicked flour- 
ish it is that they may be consumed." In the halls of 
pleasure and prosperity we find not the foot of a celes- 
tial ladder, but a trap door which opens into hell. Look 
at Jacob. Such covetousness had been in his heart, that, 
to gain the birthright, he had cheated his own brother 
and father. Now what a change ; now he asks only for 
" bread to eat and raiment to put on." Before this, God 
had been forgotten ; now God is present everywhere and 
God's presence everything. " And Jacob awaked out of 
his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place and 
I knew it not." — " If God will but be with me, and will 
keep me in this way that I go, so that I come again to 
my father's house." And how constantly is this exem- 
plified in the experience of every child of God. Disen- 
chanted of the delusions of earth, our faith sees God 
where before we little thought he had been at w r ork for 
us ; and on reviewing afflictions, disappointments and 
sorrows which at times seemed inscrutable, we exclaim, 

14* 



3:22 Jacob's ladder. 

Surely the Lord was in these dispensations and we knew 
it not — oh, if he will only he with us, keep u$, %nd 
bring us to our Father's house, it is all our soul's desire. 
My beloved brethren, let such thoughts as these 
moderate our attachments to earth. Nor only so. Let 
them elevate our thoughts above the world and fix 
them upon the skies. Let them fire our souls with insa- 
tiable aspirations for that heaven which is so sure, and 
perhaps to some of us so near. What a sublime promise . 
this is, " And a highway shall be there, and a way, and 
it shall be called, the way of holiness ; the unclean shall 
not pass over it, but it shall be for those ; the wayfaring 
men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall 
Jbe there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it 
shall not be found there ; but the redeemed shall walk 
there. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and, 
come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their 
heads ; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow 
and sighing shall flee away." Who can interpret such a 
promise as this— so exceeding great and precious ? sor- 
row and sighing fleeing away forever, like darkness be- 
fore the rising sun ; joy and gladness their eternal 
inheritance ; and songs and everlasting joy flourishing 
forever as a coronet upon their heads. Who can com- 
prehend what such a glory and blessedness as this will 
be ? Well, well, but we shall one day know what it 
means. " It doth not now appear what we shall be ;" 
but does this obscurity cool our ardors ? No, it in- 
flames them ; for it is the transcendent and ineffable 
glory of that world which makes it impossible for us to 



JACOB'S LADDER. 323 

conceive anything, which made it impossible for Paul, 
who had been caught up there, to utter anything. 

I was much affected, this morning, in reading the ac- 
count which Bunyan gives of the deaths of Christian and 
Hopeful, and of their entrance into the city. The whole 
narrative is touching. The passage of the dark river by 
the two pilgrims — their approach to the gates — the es- 
cort coming forth to meet them, bearing harps and crowns 
for them — the bells of the city all ringing for joy — the 
welcome, " Enter ye into the joy of your Lord" — and 
the answer of the pilgrims, " singing with a loud voice, 
and saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, 
be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb forever and ever" — all how charming. But the 
words which affected me, are those which describe the 
^closing scene. " Now just as the gates were opened to 
let in the men, I looked in after them, and beheld the 
city shining like the sun ; the streets also were paved 
with gold ; and in them walked many men, with crowns 
upon their heads, palms in their hands, and golden harps 
to sing praises withal. There were also of them that had 
wings, and they answered one another without intermis- 
sion, saying, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord. And after 
that they shut up the gates. Which when I had seen I 
wished myself among them!' 

Ah, who but wishes himself among them ? Ye 
blessed inhabitants of heaven, once ye were as we are, 
when shall we come and appear before God in Zion, and 
be as ye are ? There Jacob is no longer a wanderer with 
a heavy heart and a troubled conscience, but sits down 



324 JACOB'S LADDER. 

with Ills father Isaac, and his grandfather Abraham, in the 
kingdom of God. There the wicked cease from troubling 
and the weary are at rest. "And there shall be no more 
curse ; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be 
in it ; and his servants shall serve him ; and they shall « 
see his face ; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 
And there shall be no night there ; and they need no can- 
dle, neither light of the sun ; for the Lord God giveth 
them light ; and they shall reign forever and ever. 
Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve 
him day and night in his temple ; and he that sitteth 
on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hun- 
ger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither shall the 
sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which 
is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall 
lead them unto living fountains of waters ; and God 
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." 

Who is surprised that poor Bunyan, in his gloomy 
prison, exclaimed, " I wished myself among them" ? 
Though on a throne, what Christian but would burn 
with the same longing, yearning desire ? what Chris- 
tian but would feel that, for him, this earth with all its 
glory is only a prison, from which he pines to escape, 
that he too might have his crown and his harp, and 
might enter in and be among them ? Would that I 
were among them. Would that the moment had come 
when my weary foot were on the last round of the ladder ; 
when my next step might be in among them ; when, with' 
one bound, I might reach the sapphire pavement, and 
stand amidst the blooming light and bursting hallelu- 



Jacob's ladder. 325 

jahs of the thick around the throne, raining their crowns 
of amaranth at his feet, and without intermission an- 
swering one another, and saying, Holy, holy, holy is 
the Lord u Which when I had seen, I wished my- 
self among them." 



SERMON XII. 

• THE CROSS,* 

" And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."— 
John, ^:il 32. 

That is a singular account given by Eusebius of the 
conversion of Constantine. He was marching, says the 
historian, at the head of his army from France, to en- 
counter his rival Maxentius in a conflict, upon the issue 
of which his empire depended. Oppressed with anxiety, 
he prayed that some God would aid him ; when, in the 
heavens and higher than the sun, a luminous cross ap- 
peared, emblazoned with these words : " By this sign 
thou shalt conquer." He did conquer ; and ever after 
the cross was displayed as the banner of the Caesars. 

The truth of this narrative I, of course, shall not 
now examine. -It is certain, fathers and brethren, and 
all important for us to recollect, that, in the noble en- 
terprise in which we are engaged, there is but one stand- 
ard which can be upreared successfully — but one banner 
which, star-like, must flame above our ranks, and lead 

* Delivered in Baltimore, before the General Convention of the Baptist 
Denomination in the United States; April 28, 1841. 



THE CROSS. 327 

us on to victory— and that this is the cross — the cross 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

How exactly to the subject in hand is the prediction 
uttered by a prophet, and cited by Paul in the fifteenth 
chapter of Eomans. "In that day there shall be a root, 
of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people ; 
to it shall the Grentiles seek." And although it is proba- 
ble that Isaiah himself did not comprehend " what the 
spirit of Christ which was in him did signify" (for a 
cross ! a gallows ! — even upon the vision of that most 
rapt of all the seers of Israel, could this have streamed 
as an ensign for man's deliverance — for the gathering 
and disenthralling of the nations ?} yet we, my brethren, 
understand the prophecy and its fulfilment. 

The very act, indeed, of the crucifixion, and the 
hour, furnished remarkable proof, or rather a significant 
type and adumbration, of the influence which the cross 
would exert. On that day and witnessing that spec- 
tacle, were present, in truth, the very " all men" — that 
is, all classes of men — to whom the text refers ; and ob- 
serve the effect on them. In the Roman centurion, 
behold a representative of the intellectual and sceptical ; 
and what is the effect on him ? He is convinced ; he 
" feared greatly, saying, truly this was the Son of God." 
In the multitude, remark the careless and thoughtless ; 
and what are their emotions ? Roused and agitated, 
they leave the spot, "smiting heavily on their breasts." 
And in that poor thief — in his conscious guilt, his peni- 
tence, his imploring cry for help, and the answer which 
at once dispels his fears, and sheds joy throughout his 



328 • THE CROSS. 

soul, and opens to liim the gates of Paradise — see there 
the influence of the cross upon a sinner, its power to 
stir, and then to hush, the guilty clamor within. 

Behold the might of the cross, as exhibited in the 
very act of the crucifixion, and on that memorable day 
when the Saviour was lifted up. But was this power 
confined to that time, and to that place ? No, my 
brethren. As Paul said to the Galatians who had heard 
the gospel, " Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth 
crucified among you/' although Galatia was some hun- 
dreds of miles distant from Calvary — so, wherever the 
gospel is now preached to a people, there the Saviour is 
set forth lifted up among that people, and there the 
same influence will be felt, the same potency exerted. 
Still it is true (and I here indicate the subject and di- 
vision of my whole discourse), still it is true, that what- 
ever the intellect of a man, there is an argument in the 
cross to convince him ; whatever the heedlessness of a 
man, there is an energy in the cross to rouse him ; in 
fine, whatever his guilt, there i*s in the cross a magnetism 
to draw,, and a magic to change, and a mystery to save 
him. Let us resume these thoughts. I beg you, my 
hearers, to honor me with all your attention. And, "0 
thou that hearest prayer/' vouchsafe me the adorable 
succors of thy giace, and hasten the time when "unto 
thee shall all flesh come \" Amen. 

I am going to consider the cross, in the first place, 
simply as an argument ; and recollect, the Saviour him- 
self declares that one object of his mission and death was 
the assertion and establishment of* the truth. It was 



THE CROSS. 329 

just before lie died upon the cross that he said ; " To this 
end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, 
that I should bear witness to the truth/' And the 
Apostle represents the "truth in Jesus" as the only 
truth that can really master the intellect of man, and 
make him wis^ unto salvation, because this alone con- 
verts speculation into certainty, and substitutes assur- 
ance as to eternal things for those vague and unsettled 
conjectures which may exist in truth out of Jesus, but 
are wholly incompetent and ineffectual. 

Only " the truth as it is in Jesus" will avail, says 
the Apostle, and with reason. Why, just reflect for a 
moment — just consider, my brethren, what it is the gos- 
pel requires in calling us to be Christians. It is to 
immolate self — it is to be divorced from the world, to 

renounce the world, to be crucified to the world. Ke- 

nounce the world ! be crucified to the w r orld ! And of 
whom is this required ? — of angels ? — of beings all soul, 
all spirit ? — by no means ; — of men — of beings carrying 
within them a thousand appetites, a thousand passions, 
a thousand propensities, and around whom are strewed, 
from their cradles to their graves, objects most seductive, 
and solicitations most refined and delicate. All these 
inclinations must be subdued, Gil these importunities 
repelled, all these fascinations surmounted. And for 
what ? What does the gospel propose in their place ? 
Things unseen, a world buried in the darkness of fu- 
turity ; objects which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive. 

Now I need not tell you, that against this sweeping 



330 THE CROSS. 

demand of the gospel there is not a taste or affection in 
the natural heart hut will rise up in resistance. No 
language can convey more forcibly the idea of violence, 
of a painful and protracted struggle, than the very ex- 
pression " crucified to the world/' And nothing is 
more proper, then, than that the mind insist upon con- 
clusive evidence as to these objects which are to " over- 
come" and displace the world. From what source, how- 
ever, can this evidence be derived ? From our senses ? 
They give us no sort of information as to such things. 
From our reason? We feel that this is inadequate. 
From the books of philosophers ? But, besides that 
their lessons are such subtleties as the multitude could 
never understand,* the truth is, the philosophers them- 
selves felt but little confidence in their own reasonings. 
Socrates, when dying, said, "I am going out of the 
world and, you remain in it, but which is better is known 
only to God. I hope/' continued the old man, " I hope 
there is something reserved for us after death." Cicero 
confesses himself unable to decide anything here ; and 
introduces one complaining " that while he was reading 
the arguments for immortality, he felt convinced, but as 
soon as he laid aside his books, his belief was gone/' 
And Seneca well remarks, that " the philosophers rather 
promised, than proved an existence beyond the tomb." 

* It was expressly taught by the Platonists, that none but the philos- 
opher living in meditation could attain to the spiritual knowledge of re- 
ligion. To him pertained the vnioTrjfiii ; the pegple must be satisfied with 
the do$;a, a compound of falsehood and truth. Hence the distinction be- 
tween the esoteric and exoteric religion. 



THE CROSS. 331 

But if the testimony of the senses and the decisions 
•of reason, and the systems of philosophy, are impotent 
for the extirpation of our earthly preferences and pas- 
sions, where can we find that conviction which shall 
possess the ascendant power ? Only in the truth as it is 
in Jesus. The cross is the only argument ; but it is an 
argument all-sufficient — an argument so conclusive that 
no power of intellect can refute it, and so simple that 
there is no ignorance which cannot comprehend it. 

Yes, my brethren, Jesus Christ " brings life and im- 
mortality to light/' He comes, " a witness to the peo- 
ple/' " to bear witness to the truth/' And he supports 
his doctrines by his life, and vindicates them by his 
miracles. Bring forth, he says, your sick, your blind, 
your lame, and your dead ; and at his bidding, the sick 
are restored to health, the blind receive their sight, the 
lame walk, and the dead are raised to life. . These were 
sufficient attestations, ample credentials, and ought to 
have satisfied all. These, however, did not satisfy the 
Jews. They ask another, and, as they themselves ad- 
mitted, a conclusive testimony ; and he gives even that. 
He seals his doctrines with his blood. And while evil 
men and evil angels are exulting in the seeming extinc- 
tion of the truth, he bursts the bands which held him, 
and, rising, stamps upon that truth the broad bright 
signet of Deity confessed ; of a God who could not only 
bend to his will and at a word the hidden mysteries and 
ministries of nature, but could invade the pale domftiions 
of Death himself, and grappling there, and in his grave- 
clothes, with the tyrant, could tear the black diadem 



332 THE CROSS. 

from his brow, and wrAich from him his cruel sceptre, 
and shiver at a blow his skeleton empire, and plaht his 
bruised heel in disdain upon the prostrate monster who 
sought to detain him captive. 

yes, dying and standing a mighty conqueror over 
the tomb, the Eedeemer graves as with sunbeams the 
proof of his doctrines. It is impossible now to doubt. 
If ever incredulity was personified, and scepticism in- 
carnate, it was in those men who witnessed the Saviour's 
miracles, and who crucified him ; but, by his death and 
resurrection, Jesus in a most illustrious manner accom- 
plished even the sign, and achieved even the argument 
which they demanded. Of that death and that resur- 
rection I will not stop here to marshal the array of evi- 
dence. They are facts incontestable ; and if any man 
doubt, I cut the matter short with that man — lie has 
never examined the* subject. No honest mind can ex- 
amine and not confess the impregnable stability of the 
truth. It is of great moment, however, to remark, that 
these facts being proved, the demonstration they furnish 
is precisely as conclusive to us as to those who witnessed 
them ; for we believe, and they could do no more. The 
demonstration is the same to us, and wherever the gos- 
pel goes. The truths the Saviour preached are equally 
proved, the doctrines equally established. 

But these truths thus certain — these doctrines thus 
established — what becomes of the world, with all its 
attractions ? How is it dwarfed. How are all sub- 
lunary splendors eclipsed, shined into darkness ; and 
all mortal glories withered, dimmed, shrunk, and spurned 



THE CKOSS. 333 

into contempt. Ye charms, ye flatteries, ye fascinations 
of earth, what are ye ? Ye pleasures, ye riches, ye 
grandeurs to which men crawl, and before which they 
prostrate themselves, what are ye ? Come, let me es- 
timate you now, let me see your worth, let me institute 
a comparison. . . . But, my brethren, is this neces- 
sary ? Ah, do not your hearts already feel the force of 
the argument ? What ! will ye compare the deceitful 
pleasures of sin to the " fulness of joy which is in God's 
presence ?" What ! will ye prefer the stinted and pol- 
luted drops here, to the torrents, the rivers of delight 
which are "at his right hand ?" What ! will ye lie 
down in hell and become a prey to devils, for the grati- 
fication of a vile passion ? All pomps and glories of this 
world — are they worthy to be compared to " the glory 
which shall be revealed in us," " the exceeding/' " the 
more exceeding/' "the far more exceeding and eternal 
weight of glory ?" To " see God ;" — to "be changed into 
the same image/' — to "go to Mount Zion, to the city of 
the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem ;" — no more 
to know sin, and sickness, and pain, and sorrow ; — to be 
forever united to saints, and cherubim, and seraphim, 
shouting "Alleluia, Salvation, and glory, and honor, and 
power unto the Lord our God, while the four and twenty 
elders fall down and 'answer, Alleluia ;" — to burn with 
their ardors ; — to satiate the soul with their ecstacies ; — 
to be with Christ ; — to behold his glory ; — to follow the 
Lamb whithersoever he goeth ; — to look into his face ; — 
to gaze upon his glorified form, and to think that every 
vein in that body bled for me ; — to be ravished with his 



334 THE CROSS. 

smiles ; — to fall at his feet ; — to cling there — to live there. 
. . . My God ! where is the world now ? What is it 
worth ? Yonder, yonder is a world for which the Chris- 
tian Alexander may well weep — yonder it is all radiant 
with the gold and glowing with the sapphire. But this 
world — this world which so dazzles and intoxicates us — ■ 
this clay world, with its clay honors, and clay pleasures, 
and clay riches — ah ! Lord, how little were eternal ob- 
jects worthy of the strife, if no better than such a 
world. And how foolish are we, my dear hearers, is there 
a spark of reason in us, when we love this world ; when 
we refuse to immolate this world ; when we hesitate to 
gather all this world contains, and trample it in the dust, 
that we may spring upward and heavenward and grasp 
the undecaying glory, honor, and immortality set before 
us in the gospel. 

Such is our argument ; an argument convincing, 
and, as I said, of equal power in all ages and to all men. 
Wherever a preacher or a missionary goes- — he may be a 
weak man, an unlearned man — but' he goes armed with 
this, and by this he will conquer. Christ " lifted up" 
will be an argument to do what no reasoning, no phi- 
losophy can do — an argument high as heavefi, and deep 
as hell, and against which no sophistry of earth, no 
subtlety of the devil can avail. The proudest intellect 
will confess its conclusiveness ; and the feeblest, that of 
the African and the untutored Burman, will rejoice in 
its majestic simplicity. This is our first article. 

But, my brethren (and I pass here to our second 
division), my brethren and fathers, were it doing any- 



THE CROSS. 335 

thing, think you, to preach Christ crucified, if the cross 
were only an argument ? Were it not utter ignorance 
of man, to suppose that any demonstration will disen- 
chant him of the world ? Why, the argument may be 
overwhelming, and the evidence establish a certainty — 
but what then ? What is all this to one who will not 
listen to the argument, who will not weigh the evidence ? 
What, in truth, my brethren, is the great difficulty we 
find in our hearers — and which the missionary, too, en- 
counters in his ? Is it to convince men who are awak- 
ened to eternal things ? By no means — that were easy. 
No, it is indifference, it is apathy. It is, that men are 
buriec!#in the deep repose and lethargy of nature ; that 
they are sepulchred in the senses. It is, that in the 
polite, we have to do with hearts turned into artificial 
frost-work ; and in the sensual, with souls stupefied and 
imbruted ; in short, that all are earth-struck — and that 
is- worse than being moon-struck — that the care of the 
passions, the dissipations of pleasure, and the more fatal 
dissipations of business — its ceaseless urgencies and ac- 
tivities — engross the mind, and leave, as to eternity, only 
a heedlessness and listlessness as universal as they are 
strange and deplorable. 

This is the grand difficulty. And, now, what expe- 
dient, what engine can be. effectual for salvation which 
does not meet this ? But what can meet it ? What 
can rouse men from this fatal unconcern and callous- 
ness ? The instrumentality, my brethren, to accomplish 
this work is still the same — it is the cross ; the power is 
still in the same object — the Saviour lifted up from the 



336 THE CROSS, 

earth. It* is idle to talk about what ought to influence 
us. The simple fact is, that preaching Christ crucified 
is God's ordinance to stir the souls of men, nor has it 
ever failed. Whatever the heedlessness of a man, there 
is in the cross an energy to rouse him, a power which 
ever has been, and ever will be acknowledged. This is 
the second proposition I advanced, and one which does 
not appear to me to r^uire any proof. Why, look at 
history : — I appeal to facts ; — I appeal to the thousands 
of all nations, ages, sexes, temperaments, and conditions, 
who have confessed this energy of the cross, and yielded 
to it. And if there be, in all this uncounted assembly, 
one who has never felt anything while a bleedirig Jesus 
has been lifted before him, then I know nothing of the 
human heart ; let him stand up — I wish to look at him ; 
he is more or less than man. 

Never felt, anything ! but it is impossible — I know 
better. No, my brethren, hardened a man may be ; he 
may have a heart of stone, of steel ; he may glory in his 
obduracy ; but if he has ever listened to that tale of love 
and sorrow, he has not been wholly unmoved. No, no, 
no, it cannot be. We have amongst us a class of peo- 
ple, who are always crying out — "No excitement, we 
do not want excitement in religion." Very well, let 
them get a preacher who knows nothing of Christ cru- 
cified in the heart, and says nothing of Christ crucified 
in the pulpit, and he will walk at their head, and lead 
them quietly and comfortably enough down to hell. 
The cross will excite. It is the most restless and resist- 
less of agitators. No sooner was it erected, than all 



THE CROSS. 337 

nature felt and confessed its instigations. The earth 
heaved,«the veil of the temple was rent from the top to 
the bottom, it agitated the rocks, it shook the sheeted 
dead from their slumbers, and disturbed the sun himself. 
Nor hath it lost its power. I care not what the man 
is ; let him be ever so desperate and wrapt in marble ; 
let him be invulnerable to the most terrifying clenunci* 
ations, and inaccessible to the most touching remon- 
strance ; let vice fix her gorgon eye upon him, until he 
be petrified and frozen into flint ; — I care not. He may 
be proof against all else ; but when this tear-compelling 
story is unfolded, when there is mustered before him all 
the tempest which beat upon that sacred head, and all 
the love which welcomed that tempest for poor man — 0, 
he will not, he cannot be proof against that. 

True, he may bid away the holy feeling, he may 
quench it and perish. But he goes down, carrying with 
him the bitter recollection that he had been there — in 
that world, that planet — where the cross was, and had 
been touched by it as by a wand. He may stifle the 
hallowed movement, but it will cost him a struggle, and, 
for the moment at least, the rock will be smitten, and 
the heart will gush, and the unbidden tear will tell that 
all is not yet quite lost. 

No, brethren, the unparalleled phenomenon exhibited 
on Calvary, eighteen hundred years ago, can never die, 
can never grow old ; and wheresoever that is proclaimed, 
there men's hearts will be shaken ; the strings long 
silent will be swept by an unseen hand ; the wells long 
sealed hermetically will be opened, and the waters 

15 



338 THE CEOSS. 

stirred to their inmost depths. I know not why it was, 
that when the body of a dead man was let dawn into 
the cave, and touched the bones of the long buried 
prophet, it was quickened into life. But I do know, 
that whenever this truth descends into the bosom — the 
conscience may have been long dead, shrouded and en- 
tombed in adamant — yet its potency will revive at the 
contact, and the word, although sown in weakness, will 
be felt to be an active and powerful thing, instinct with 
vitality and vigor. Nor when I speak thus, when I 
affirm this so confidently, am I at all regarding the abil- 
ity of the preacher, though that is important. Nor do 
I refer even to the invisible workings of the Spirit, 
though these, I am aware, are indispensable. I am well 
aware, my brethren, nor can we too constantly bear in 
mind, that it is the office of the Holy Ghost to apply 
the atonement. I know that, as in creation this glorious 
Agent brooded over the elements, and wrought out, from 
discord and darkness, light and harmony and loveliness, 
causing the shapeless mass to burst into efflorescence 
and beauty — so, now, it is his, to move plastically over 
the chaos of principles, affections, and hearts, disorgan- 
ized and left in confusion and ruin by the shock of the 
fall, and to reduce them back, and refashion them to 
order and holiness, and thus become the author of the 
new creation. All this I know. But I allude not at 
present to this. The energy asserted by the text, and of 
which I speak, is that of the cross, and in the cross 
itself. 

And, now, what if I were unable to account for this 



THE CROSS. 339 

energy ? What if I should just say, that there is an 
electric chain which binds our ruined race to the won- 
derful Being who hangs there in our likeness ?_ We are 
told that if two lutes, of the same form, and tuned ex- 
actly in unison, be in the same room, and one be struck 
into melody, the other, though untouched by mortal 
minstrelsy, will own a kindred sympathy, and give out 
soft and gentle murmurg. And what if I should only 
tell you that something like this takes place ; — that 
when Jesus Christ assumed our form, and entered this 
world, and was smitten for us, there was a mystery in 
his pangs which should forever cause the sensibilities of 
human hearts to vibrate, and waken the pla,y of feelings 
tender and unearthly ? What if I should use the idea 
of an Apostle, and say that, in becoming man, Jesus 
Christ took not on him the individual but the nature ; 
and that — as by this assumption he finished an atone- 
ment sufficient for the whole world, and became in this 
sense "the Saviour of all men/' and the sins of all 
thronged, and crowded, and gathered, and pressed, in 
crushing and excruciating weight, upon the sufferer — so, 
by the same union, there goes forth — there is sent back 
and abroad and into mes's souls, wherever a crucified 
Eedeemer is preached among them — an effluence, a sen- 
sation, a sympathy, thrilling and irresistible ? What 
if I should only say this ? — and the Scriptures would 
bear me out — it were enough. 

But, really, my brethren, all mystery apart, is it 
strange that the cross is invested with q, power to rouse 
and shake the soul ? Strange 1 is not the marvel this 



340 THE CROSS. 

— not that men are moved — but that all are not in- 

melted and subdued by it ? Why. let men be 

only nien, let them only hare pulses that beat and hearts 

that throb, and this simple announcement, u God so 

Id, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 

soever believeth on him should not perish, but have 

\g life" — O ! the very thought is colossal, it is 

overmastering, and language droops under it — tell me, 

can this be received with coldness and indifference F is 

pposable, is it possible ? And, then, the amazing 

consummation — the Deed — the Deed — the Deed — the 

tragedy of which this earth was the theatre, while angels 

gazed confounded, and the hierarchies of heaven bent 

::;ii :hrir s-ats iz. silri/: asriiii^ir^:. :..-'_.. I'tItj ::^1:. 

I L:.I iln:5: ?:.::1. „>: :";: ::i:r ii:~~r hri i ::-:'.':: zi. ::r 

once have had all its universal regards and expatiations 

arrested, and fixed, and concentrated — that deed — that 

spectacle — can that be viewed with apathy ? 

:^t! my brethren, that "the Word was made 

flesh" — that " the Ancient of days 7 ' was cradled as an 

infant — that he, "by whom and for whom all things 

created," stooped to poverty and shame ; — arethese 

things to be heard and to have no influence? That, 

for us men and our salvation, " the brightness of the 

he who " thought it no robbeiy to be 

equal with God," emptied himself, and took upon him 

"the form of ..:."' and terminated upon a gibbet 

a life of pain, and tears, and blood — O Jesus, is this 

r this and be unmoved ? Can this 

fail to bow my soul, and wipe out every record from my 



THE CKOSS. • 341 

heart, and live there alone, the one, single, all-controlling 
impression, stamped in to the very core, and moulding 
every fibre to itself ? Who is surprised at what a dis- 
tinguished missionary relates ? He was sent among 
the Indians, and he preached to them, with all his 
earnestness, of God, his power, his grandeur, and his 
glory ; but they turned away and laughed at him. Why, 
they had heard far nobler sermons on these subjects than 
man could utter. They had sat down by day amid the 
wild pomp of their mountains, and the sublime silence 
of their forests ; and at night had looked up at the 
pavement of unfading fire above their heads. They had 
listened to the rushing of the cataract — "deep calling 
unto deep/' — and to the muJic of the tempest, and the 
cry of the hurricane. Before their eyes the lightning's 
fiery flood had rifted the sturdy oak ; and hoarse and 
strong had thundered on beneath them the might of the 
earthquake. They had heard these preach, and they 
preached of God in tones which mocked the puny articu- 
lations of human eloquence. And now, that the white 
man should come to tell them that there is a God, and 
that this God is great, and powerful, and glorious .... 
they spurned at him in hardness and derision. Baffled 
in his first effort, the missionary changed his address, 
and proclaimed a crucified Jesus. He oj)ened his Bible, 
and read to them those words, " God so loved the world, 
that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him should not perish but have everlasting 
life" — " God spared not his own Son but delivered him 
up for us all." Nor did he preach in vain now. The 



342 THE CROSS. 

gaze of his audience was at once fastened. They were 
astonished at the doctrine, and their hearts were at once 
touched. As the speaker went on with u the faithful 
saving and worthy of all acceptation/' as he led them 
from scene to scene of the Saviour's humiliation and 
sorrow — from the manger to the garden, and from the 
garden to the judgment hall — smothered sobs and mur- 
murs began to be hearc? ; until at last, when he brought 
them to the cross, and showed them, nailed there, the 
abused and suffering Son of God, and said — " All this 
for you — these tears, these groans, this blood for you/' 
■ — the poor savages could refrain no longer ; they had 
stood all else, but they could not stand this : they ex- 
claimed " Is this true ? Is this true ?" and lifted up 
their voices and wept aloud. 

Sirs, sirs, men call me an enthusiast, but I ask you 
is not enthusiasm cold common sense here ? " What a 
pity," cried the Eoman, u that we have but one life for 
our country." Which of you but exclaims this night, 
what a pity we have not a thousand hearts for such a 
Saviour— a thousand hearts, and every one of them a 
holocaust, a whole burnt offering, a sacred conflagration 
of gratitude and devotion. 

Nor is it only the overcoming fact of the humiliation 
and crucifixion of the Son of God that gives such power 
to the cross. From it what overwhelming truths flash 
out on a guilty world, as from a blazing, focal, radiating 
central point. The cross ; what an exhibition does it 
give of the value of the soul. The cross ; what an ad- 
monition there of the miseries of the damned. Devour- 



THE CROSS. 343 

1 ing flames^ chains of clarkness ; howlings of despair, I 
j need you not — the cross where Jesus bleeds to save us 
gives me a more terrific idea of hell than you can. The 
cross ; what an awful lustre does it pour upon the just- 
ice, the holiness, and the severity of God. 'Above all, 
the love of God — how dazzlingly, with what surpassing 
brightness, does not that shine there — sending a heavenly 
effulgence all over this dark world, down even to the 
gates of hell. I ask again, can this cross be viewed with 
indifference ? Is it strange that the cross has power to 
rouse and stir the heart ? Is not this the wonder, not 
that men are shaken, b.ut that all are not melted and 
mastered by the very first announcement of a crucified 
Redeemer ; and that wdienever and wherever this truth- 
is proclaimed, the scenes of Pentecost are not renewed, 
and the place is not a Bochim, drenched with bursting 
tears rained thickly out of full hearts ? A philosopher, 
and not of the w r orst school either, has declared "it is 
impossible to love God/' For my part, when I look at 
the cross, I say how is it possible not to love God ; not 
to call, with the*Psalmist, upon heaven and earth, upon 
our souls and all within us, to love and praise Him ; 
and, with Andrew Fuller, to find our hearts forever 
breaking out into unknown strains of love, and our lips 
— go where we will—still sin^ius; 

u for this love let rocks and hills 
Their lasting silence break, 
And all harmonious human tongues 
*The Saviour's praises speak?" 



344 THE CROSS. 

I ought now. my brethren, to enter upon our last 
article, and. having exhibited the cross as an argument 
and a motive, to present it in its most glorious aspect, 
as the wonder-working power of God in converting and 
saving the vilest. I am not ashamed, however, to con- 
that I have undertaken too much. Ashamed ! if. 
Paul, if Gabriel were in this pulpit, they would make 
the same confession. I have no ability to execute what 
I proposed, and were I foolish enough to make the at- 
tempt, a failure would not only be inevitable, but I 
should glory in it. " Young man/' replied a great poet 
to one who asked him, " What is genius?" — "young 
man, if you have never felt it, I cannot tell you what it 
is/' But if this be true of the inspirations of genius, 
with how much greater truth may I affirm, as to the 
transforming omnipotence of the cross, that those of you 
who know it not by experience, can never comprehend it 
by explanation. Say what I might, Christ crucified, 
while it is " unto them that are called, the power of God, 
and the wisdom of God," will be ib 'to the Jews a stum- 
bling block, and to the Greeks foolishness ;" and, after 
all, you would only exclaim, " Ah, Lord God, doth he 
not speak parables ?*'" Any terms I might use, although 
the very phraseology of the Bible, would be to the men 
of the world among you. only a mystical and unintelli- 
gible jargon. And to you, my brethren, what could I 
say, which you would not feel had been better left un- 
said ? I was much affected, not long since, in a distant 
city, by the words of an humble individual. We were 
receiving him into the church, and he was telling us, as 



THE CKOSS. 345 

well as he could, in his homely but strong language, of 
the change wrought in him. At length he stopped, and, 
looking at me with a countenance expressive of the 
deepest emotion, observed, " Sir, I cannot speak wliat I 
feel ; God, sir, has not given a poor man like me the 
power to talk of this thing/' My brethren, this is all I 
can say on our present article, God has not given a poor 
man like me the power to talk on this thing. It is this, 
my hearers, which makes the cross what it is — this, 
which gives it an efficacy imperial and peerless — this, 
that it is not only a demonstration to convince the mind, 
and a talisman to kindle the heart, but " the power of 
God" tg the salvation of the soul. Here is the great 
thing, the grand attraction, the might, the majesty, the 
sweet though awful mystery of the cross. But here is 
just the thing that passeth man and angel. I say again, 
and the more I think the more I repeat it, what can 
mortal utterance do here ? Where among you is the 
Christian who has not anticipated my remark, that this to- 
pic jaust be felt, and is matter for faith, not speculation ? 
That for a lost world there is but one remedy, and 
this a specific, we know. We know that where Christ 
crucified is not preached, nothing is done for eternity. 
Much there may be of sublimity and beauty in the ora- 
tions of the pulpit ; but if Christ crucified be not there 
— while the imagination may be entertained — all will be 
to the soul only the beauty of frost, and the sublimity 
of the desert. This we know. But how the cross exerts 
this power in conversion, who can explain ? The em- 
blem of the brazen serpent teaches us that the influence 

15* 



346 THE CROSS. 

is inscrutable ; and what can we say but this, that the 
cross is God's appointment to do this thing — it is God's 
ordinance to do this thing. Look at Saul of Tarsus. 
"What aileth him there at the gate of Damascus ? What 
is this internal and spiritual revelation of a crucified 
Saviour, ("in me/' as he says,) which in a moment 
transfixes that proud and haughty fire- soul, and beats 
him to the ground, and wrings from him the cry, 
" Lord, what wilt thou have me. to do ?" and, riveting 
his gaze on a single object, sends him through the world 
exclaiming, " God forbid that I should glory save in the 
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ '" — who can tell what 
this is ? Go to Corinth. -What is this power .at work 
in the church there, which, while the cross is lifted up, 
cleaves the bosom of that stranger who has come into 
the assembly, perhaps through curiosity, perhaps to scoff, 
and causes that unbelieving man to fall upon his face, 
awed, struck down by the manifestation to himself of 
the secrets of his heart, and there to worship, and adore, 
and, departing thence, to proclaim the presence of«Je- 
hovah in the congregation ? Who can explain this ? 
And who can say what is that mystery which, at a 
single look, can soften and disarm the most inveterate 
enmity ; can unlock, as^with a key — a spell, the soul, 
and untwist all the links which chain it in icy hardness, 
and break up all the springs and deep fountains of ten- 
derness, and penitence, and love, and cause men to 
"look on him whom they have pierced and mourn as 
one mourneth for an only son, and be in bitterness as 
one who is in bitterness for his first-born ?" What is 



THE CROSS. 347 

all this ? I know not. It is a subject, not for discus- 
sion, but adoration. My brethren, I know not ; I only- 
say, "not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, 
but of God." I know not ; I only know, (hosannas to 
God for this — 0, cross, cross of my bleeding Lord, may 
I meditate on thee more, may I feel thee more, may I 
resolve to know nothing but thee,) I only know it is so. 
" Then he stood awhile, and looked, and wondered, for 
it seemed surprising that the sight of a cross should so' 
affect him. He looked, therefore, and looked again, 
until the springs in his head sent the waters down*his 
cheeks." Such is the simple, but beautiful language of 
Bunyan — language that finds an echo in manj&a heart 
here ; and I have only to w r ave my hand thus, for hun- 
dreds in this house to stand up and tell, with starting 
tears, of this mystery, this unsearchable wonder of the 
cross. Nor only you. Thousands in other lands, thou- 
sands of the heathen, who w f ere yesterday enveloped in 
guilt and wretchedness, are to-day telling of this power 
of the cross, and Looking, and wondering, and looking 
again, until their swelling hearts run over, and the 
floods roll down their cheeks. Yes, yes, thou won- 
derous cross ! and might a sinner who cannot preach of 
thee, be permitted to testify, I too, my God, (" my 
soul hath it still in remembrance and is humbled, in 
me,") I too, unworthy as I am, could speak. 

"In evil long I took delight, 
Unawed by shame or fear, 
Till a new object struck my sight, 
And stopped my wild career. 



I 



34S THE CROSS. 

I saw one hanging on a tree 

In agony and blood, 
Who fixed his dying eyes on me 

As near his cross I stood. 

Sure never till my latest breath 

Can I forget that look ; 
It seemed to charge me with his death, 

Though not a word he spoke. 

My conscience felt and owned the guilt, 

And filled me with despair ; 
I saw my sins his blood had spilt, 

And helped to nail him there. 

Alas, I knew not what I did, 

But now my tears are vain ; 
Where can my trembling soul be hid ? 
For I the Lord have slain. 

Another look he gave which said, 

I freely all forgive ; 
This blood is for thy ransom paid ; 

I die that thou mayst live." 

My fathers, and brethren, and friends, I have 
finished, though all feebly, the discussion of the text. 
I am afraid I have detained you too long. I cannot 
help it, however, on such a theme as the cross of Jesus. 
In eternity, we shall wonder how we could ever have be- 
gun to talk of anything else, or have ceased talking of 
this after we had begun. It rests now with ourselves 
not to allow the subject to be without fruit, but to de- 
rive from it the lessons it imparts. The words upon 
which we have been meditating are not isolated. They 
are selected from a passage which portrays as formidable 



THE CROSS. 349 

indeed the engagement before us, the struggle to which 
as a body we are pledged and enlisted. "Now," says 
the Saviour, "is the judgment of this world." What 
a conflict. Wherever, then, superstition, and sin, and 
darkness reign, the gospel is to confront and assail 
them, and that, too, in a war of extermination. We 
wage with " the rulers of the darkness of this world" a 
contest glorious indeed, but how arduous. Let us gird 
ourselves with a courage worthy of such a cause ; and 
wrestle, and strive, and strike, like men who feel within 
them celestial promptings, and in whose ears are ring- 
ing the acclamations of heaven, and the shout of the 
King himself, " the high calling of God in Christ Je- 
sus." It was said of Julius Ceesar, " Eodem animo 
soripsit quo bellavit" — "He wrote with as much spirit 
as he fought." Let the converse of this be true as to us. 
Let us fight with as much spirit as we write and speak 
and pass resolutions, and what shall we not accomplish. 
Nor is the warfare a doubtful one. " Now," the Ee- 
deemer adds, " shall the prince of this world be cast out." 
Where this gospel goes, Satan's throne is broken, his 
kingdom subverted, and a blow dealt which resounds 
throughout the borders of his dominions. How much 
has already been accomplished, and how swiftly, even 
while I speak, prophecy is leaping into fulfilment, you 
require not me to say. What hath not God already 
wrought. Beneath the stormy tides and agitated ele- 
ments of passion, how, age after age, hath a strong and 
pure under-current been silently propelling the enter- 
prise of heaven. What changes have not been already 



350 I THE CROSS. 

effected by the simple ministry of the truth — changes 
more astonishing than all the revolutions achieved by 
fleets and armies. And now, this clay, every wave rolls 
and every wind wafts us the news of fresh and glorious 
conquests by our Emanuel " riding prosperously because 
of truth and meekness and righteousness/' This is one 
lesson to be derived from our subject. 

But, my brethren — while by the whole passage we 
are taught this lesson, while we are instructed there as 
to the combat to which we are championed, and hear 
there the cry to battle pealing out from the gospel of 
peace, to battle for truth, and man, and God, and hail 
there the certain triumph — let us fix our eyes intently 
upon the text of the cynosure of our hopes, and learn 
from that what is the only engine by which we can con- 
quer, the only weapon which is " mighty through God 
to the pulling dowm of strong holds" — I mean the cross 
— Christ lifted up from the earth to draw all men unto 
him. " Every battle of the warrior/' says Isaiah, " is 
with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood ;*but 
this shall be with* burning and fuel of fire." Only the 
silent, melting, subduing energy of the cross can succeed. 
Forget this — employ man's wisdom — and defeat awaits 
us, confusion will overwhelm us. But use this instru- 
mentality, and before its almightiness Satan shall fall 
from heaven like lightning, and there can stand no re- 
sistance, there shall avail no enchantment of earth, no 
stratagem, no divination of hell, against Israel. "Let 
the heathen rage, and the kings of the earth set them- 
selves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the 



THE CROSS. 351 

Lord and against his anointed" — they "imagine a vain 
thing/' if the cross be there. Let. the handed might of 
numbers oppose — God is in the midst of us, we shall 
not be moved if the cross be there ; " the Lord of hosts 
is with us, he will be exalted among the heathen, he 
will be exalted in the earth/' In a word, let the night, 
which like a pall covers a nation, be ever so thick and 
palpable — let idolatry overshadow a people until it 
sweeps with its dismal train every star from out their 
sky — if the cross go there, its radiance will pierce the 
gloom, its beams will dissipate the darkness. This is 
another lesson taught by the subject. Do we not need 
it, my brethren ? Has the preaching Christ crucified 
that prominence in our modern scheme of missionary 
operations, which it had in the system of the Apostles ? 
I ask, with humility, are we sufficiently imbued with 
this lesson ? 

And are we sufficiently mindful of another, and the 
last lesson I notice as to be gathered from our subject, 
and which more particularly regards ourselves. I allude 
to the necessity of our living always near the cross, and 
drinking deeply and perpetually its hallowing inspira- 
tions. Brethren, that Christians in these days are what, 
alas, most of us are — that the atonement affects us so 
feebly — is owing, not to that atonement's being now too 
common a topic, but to our contemplating it too little. 
How intense — still and soft— yet severely, sublimely in- 
tense, is the efficacy of the cross of Christ, where its 
entire, unmutilated influence is permitted. For my 
part, says the Apostle, " I am crucified by it to the 



3j2 the cross. 

world, and the world to me" — it " constrains me." 
let it crucify us * let it constrain us. The word " con- 
strain" is, in the original, so powerfully energetical, so 
rich in expressiveness, that it is difficult to decide be- 
tween several meanings, all equally just and beautiful. 
Nor am I going to decide. I choose rather to unite 
them all, and on them found my closing exhortation. 

Does the term often signify "transport?" Let us 
adopt this meaning, and then let the cross transport us. 
Hear Paul, in a sort of ecstacy, crying out, " If any 
man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anath- 
ema niaranatha." Listen to one of the early Christians 
who says, "to me it seems much more bitter to offend 
Christ than to be tormented in hell ;" and to another 
who declares, "I say the truth, if on one hand I saw 
the pains of hell, and. on the other the horror of sinning 
against the love of Jesus, and I must be plunged in one, 
I would choose the pains of .hell — I could never sin 
against this love." My brethren, you are perhaps stag- 
gered at these exclamations ; but these men spake just 
what they felt. They were transported, they were rav- 
ished, they were "beside themselves unto God." And 
what they felt we should feel ; there are holy ecstacies 
of love which we should know. If the word signify 
"transport," then let the cross transport us. 

But the term, means also " surround and urge on 
every side." Let us adopt this meaning, and then let 
the love of a crucified Saviour surround us. Let it be 
the circumambient atmosphere we breathe, and in which 
our souls are steeped ; the all-penetrating, all-pervad- 



THE CROSS. 353 

ing, all-animating, all-inflaming motive. What motive 
like this to kindle our languid affections ; much for- 
given and yet but Utile love ! my soul, can this be pos- 
sible ? What motive like this to deracinate the wretched 
selfishness of our nature ; why does he die ? why, but 
that " they who live should live no more to themselves, 
but to him who gave himself^for them ?" Where such 
a motive to fortify us with holy endurance of hardness ? 
have the members anything to do with roses, while the 
head is crowned with thorns ? In short, what an incen- 
tive here to the noblest charity. " Ye know the grace 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet 
for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his pov- 
erty might Jbe made rich/' Do ye know this grace my 
brethren ? do ye study this grace ? do you feel this 
grace ? Then you need nothing else to preach charity 
to you. Look at the cross ! ye that hear me this 
night, behold the man — behold how he loves you — there, 
there is a charity sermon for you ! Ah, listen to it, lis- 
ten to it. Give him love for love, charity for charity ; 
sacrifice for sacrifice ; heart for heart ; give him every- 
thing, for he gave more than everything for you. Yes, 
if the word means " surround/' let the love of Christ 
surround us ; let it compass and press us on every side 
with a sweet but resistless violence. 

Lastly, the import of the term may be, and literally 
is, "Unite." Let us adopt this meaning, and then let, 
oh, let the love of Christ unite us. " Who/' asks the 
Apostle, " shall separate us from the love of God which 
is in Christ Jesus our Lord ?" And I — I exclaim, with 



354 THE CKOSS. 

equal confidence, who, what, shall separate us from each 
other, united as we are by this love ? What shall sepa- 
rate us ? Shall persecution ? *Ntf, that will only bind 
us closer. Shall the feuds by which in this world society 
is torn, and even members' of the same family armed and 
exasperated against each other — sectional jealousies, and 
political rancor, and party malignity ? No, the cross 
which lifted the Saviour from the earth, lifts us high 
above these petty tumults and distractions. What then? 
— what shall separate us ? Internal strife, intestine dis- 
sension ? God forbid. No, my brethren, I am per- 
suaded better things of you. No, never, never, never ; 
it cannot be; No, by our common toils and sufferings 
as Baptists ; by the venerable men who sang together 
over the cradle of this Convention — those whose reverend 
forms I still see lingering fondly here — and those who 
this night, it is no presumption to believe, are beholding 
us with ineffable concern even from their thrones in 
glory ; by the blood which cements us, and the new 
commandment written in that blood ; by the memory 
and love of him who hath bound us together with ties 
indissoluble and eternal, and who is now in our midst, 
showing his wounds, his hands, his feet, his side, his 
head, and saying, "as I have loved you even so ought ye 
to love one another ;" by all the glorious recollections of 
the past, and by all the 'more glorious anticipations of 
the future — this must not, will not, shall not, cannot be. 
But my heart is too full. I must stop. My tears 
will not allow me \o say many things I had wished to 
say. My feelings choke my utterance. Let me only re- 



THE CROSS. ' 355 

peat the Apostle's words — " The love of Christ con- 
straineth us/' Let me only renew the exhortation. Get 
nearer the cross. Live nearer the cross. Then no dis- 
cord can interrupt our union, no troublesome birds of 
prey disconcert our sacrifice. " Now there stood by the 
cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary 
the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene," — let us 
take our stand there too, and we shall never want zeal, 
we can never lack devotion to the Saviour, and love for 
each other. Nor is it long that we have to be here, and 
to do for Jesus. Where is Crawford ? I seek in vain 
for his familiar face among you. Where is Knowles ? 
It seems to me but yesterday that I was addressing 
many^of you, and he was there — his countenance beam- 
ing with intelligence and affection. Where is he now ? 
I look around, but I miss him to-night. And to-mor- 
row, my brothers and fathers, where shall you and I 
be ? To-morrow we, too, shall be missed. To-morrow 
the place that knows us shall know us no more. To- 
morrow we shall die, and the august throne shall be piled 
for judgment, and we eurselves be standing at the foot 
of the awful tribimal. Let us act in view of that hour. 
Let us listen to the voice which comes to each .of us this 
night from heaven, " Be thou faithful unto death, and I 
will give thee a crown of life/' My brethren, my very 
dear brethren, have we been faithful ? Each of us can 
say, " I know whom I have believed, and that he wiL 1 
keep that which I have committed to him against that 
day." Can Jesus say, as to each of us, I know whom I 
have believed, and that he has been faithful to the trust 



356 ' THE CROSS. 

which I have committed to him ? Let not the sin of 
perfidy rest longer upon us. Let not neglected duties 
and broken vows cry longer to heaven against us. Let 
not our works be longer " found unperfected before 
God." 

11 Christians, view the day 
Of Retribution ! Think how ye will bear 
From your Redeemer's lips the fearful words, 
4 Thy brother, perishing in his own blood, 
Thou saw'st — Thy brother hungered, was athirst, 
Was naked — and thou saw'st it. He was sick. 
Thou didst withhold the healing ; was in prison 
To vice and ignorance — nor didst thou send 
To set him free.' Oh! ere that hour of doom, 
Whence there is no reprieve, brethren, awake # 

From this dark dream. 

"The time of hope 
And of probation speeds on rapid wings 
Swift and returnless. What thou hast to do 
Do with thy might. Haste, lift aloud thy voice, 
And publish to the borders of the pit 

The Resurrection Then, when the ransomed come 

With gladness unto Zion, thou*shalt joy 
To hear the valleys and the hills break forth 
Before them into singing; thou shalt ^in 
The raptured strain, exulting that the Lord 
Jehovah, God omnipotent, doth reign 
O'er all the earth." 

Even so, Amen. God the Father, hasten that 
time ! Holy Ghost, inspire us with something worthy 
of the name of zeal in such a cause ! glorious Shiloh, 
unto thee let "the gathering of the people be !" Let 



THE CROSS. 357 

thy kingdom come ! " For thine is the kingdom, and 
thine the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and 
the victory, and the majesty — all that is in the heaven 
k and in the earth is thine — thine is the kingdom, Lord, 
and thou art exalted as head over all — and blessed be 
thy holy name, and let the whole earth be filled with 
thy glory. Amen, and Amen/' 



SERMON XIII. 

• THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS* 

"And the Desire of all nations shall come." — Haggle il 7. 

The text foretold a strange phenomenon. It declared 
that the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity would 
be seen among sinful men ; that he who from everlasting 
had dwelt in light unapproachable, would assume some 
form, and make his entrance upon this globe ; that the 
invisible and ever-glorious, whom no man had seen, nor 
could see — the Eternal forever concealed behind stars 
and suns, would veil his effulgence, and come into the 
world. Such is the prophecy ; and if this wonderful 
event, dimly anticipated, could agitate and transport 
the inmost spirit of patriarch and prophet, flooding them 
with raj)ture, what should be our emotions now — now 
when he has come ; when we have seen " the brightness 
of the Father's glory/' " come forth from the Father, 
and come into the world ;" when he who, " being in the 
form of Grod, thought it not robbery to be equal with 
God/' has "made himself of no reputation, and taken 
upon him the form of a servant, and been made in the 
likeness of men, and being found in fashion as a man, 

* Preached before the Southern Baptist Convention, at its first annual 
session, in Richmond, June 10, 1846. 



THE DESIRE OF ALL 2n t ATIONS. 359 

has humbled himself and become obedient unto death, 
even the death of the cross;" when we can say, " with- 
out controversy great is the mystery of godliness, God 
was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of 
angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the 
world, received up into glory ;" when, with adoring con- 
fidence, each of us can exclaim, " This is a "faithful say- 
ing, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus 
came into the world to save sinners, of wdiom I am 
chief." 

Of this stupendous and overmastering deed of love, 
how can I worthily speak, who am a man of unclean 
lips, and live among a people of unclean lips ? Weil 
have we dome, to commence from it a new era in the 
biography of our race. Amid the wreck of past ages, 
that transaction stands alone by itself, in unique and sol- 
itary grandeur : and stand it forever shall, amid the 
waste of future ages, the great epoch in the cycles of 
eternity, the master-piece of infinite power, and wisdom, 
and love, to absorb our expanding souls long after this 
globe shall have been purged by fire, and when all its 
records and annals shall have been forgotten. Turning, 
then, from the mysterious, unutterable glories of this 
" new thing which God has made in the earth/' let us 
come to w T hat we may compass by our thoughts ; let us 
confine ourselves to the very significant title applied to 
the Eedeemer in our text ; regarding the term " Desire" 
as referring to the expectation, and the ivants, and the 
happiness of the whole human family. 

I. First, then, it is a fact deserving more attention 



360 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

than lias, I think, been bestowed upon it, that among 
the nations there has ever existed a wide-spread if not 
universal expectation of a glorious person, to be the ren- 
ovator of mankind, and to impress a new character on 
the spirit, habits, and morals of the earth. A truth this, 
wholly inexplicable to the infidel, but quite incontestable 
for all that, and to every Christian admitting of an easy 
solution. 

Why, my brethren, such a catastrophe as the Fall — 
who will believe that it could ever be obliterated from 
the memory of man ? And if our ruin, much mere surely 
would the promise of our redemption be transmitted — a 
promise which in so peculiar a manner assured the guilty 
that " the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's 
head/' and which was performed when, " the fulness of 
time being come, God sent forth his Son, made of a wo- 
man, made under the law, to redeem them that were 
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of 
sons/' 

It is a famous question, which I shall not disturb, 
whether the benefits of the atonement by Jesus extend 
to other beings besides man. The Bible conveys clear 
intimations, that among intelligences peopling other 
portions of God's empire, the knowledge was dispersed, 
both of the degeneracy of our race and of some wonder- 
ful expedient for our rescue. And if in distant provinces 
of creation, the advent of a Saviour into the world was 
matter of adoring study, away with the thought that 
God would leave the posterity of Adam in ignorance of 
a transaction so deeply affecting their destiny, and of 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 361 

which this earth was to be the theatre. Accordingly, we 
find that such a revelation was not only given, but per- 
petuated. And those of you who are acquainted with 
! antiquity know, that in all ages, and among all nations 
most distant from each other, the expectation of a de- 
livefer has been cherished, and cherished everywhere as 
an express communication from heaven. 

The truth is, that scarce had the fall occurred, when 
God began to announce a retriever from the ruins of that 
fall ; and in antediluvian ages we see him so busied with 
this great promise, that, studied by the light of faith, 
the history of the world even then will appear as the first 
act in the grand drama of redemption. . It is a touching 
proof of God's compassion, that before the sentence was 
uttered against our guilty parents, the gospel *vvas 
preached to them, and its golden notes mingled tenderly 
with those accents of wrath, which otherwise might 
have driven them to despair. Directly after this, sacri- 
fices seem to have commenced — an institution by which 
an innocent victim was to be immolated for the sins of 
man ; a thing so entirely above the dictates of reason, 
that we at once recognize in it the appointment of hea- 
ven, and. a type of the Messiah. The offering of Cain 
was as choice as that of Abel ; the latter, however, was 
an expiatory sacrifice, and the conduct of God to the 
two worshippers was a proclamation never to be forgotten, 
that without shedding of blood there is no remission of 
sins ; hence, " by faith Abel offered a more excellent 
sacrifice than Cain/' In short, brief — to me instruct- 
ively, most affectingly brief — as is the record of those 

16 



362 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

who lived before the flood, their cares, and passions, and 
pleasures, and pains, all summed up in a few pages, yet 
the Spirit has supplied one important fact. There were 
preachers in those days, whose theme was the same Jesus 
we preach — Enoch especially foretelling his coming, and 
preparing the world for his reception. 

From the flood to the call of Abraham, we see God 
still occupied in consoling the earth with the promise of 
its great restorer. The Scriptures, indeed, declare that 
the very manner of Noah's escape was emblematical of 
salvation by Christ. " The like figure whereunto," says 
Peter, u even baptism, doth also now save us ; not the 
putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer 
of a good conscience toward God, by the resurrection of 
Jesus Christ/' No sooner is that patriarch landed, than 
this second father of mankind, by sacrifices of blood, in- 
culcates on his family, then the whole population of the 
earth, the faith of the grand atonement. And upon all 
of Jehovah's dispensations at this period we discern the 
plain shining signatures of this illustrious doctrine. Au- 
dience is never given to man as an innocent being, but 
always as guilty, and through the medium of sacrifices. 

In process of time we find God adopting a singular 
measure. He separates one nation from all the nations, 
choosing them, not because they were more in number 
than any people, but for this peculiar purpose,, that they 
might be the depositories' of the " faithful saying ;" and 
might show from afar the magnificent redemption to be 
one day wrought out for man. If patriarchs rejoiced, it 
was in anticipation of that event — Abraham desiring to 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 363 

» 

see Christ's day, and gladdened by the sight ; and Jacob 
exulting over death, as he leaned upon the top of his 
staff, and turned his eye to the triumphant Shiloh. If 
prophets were inspired, it was to confirm the faithful in 
their aspirations for the Messiah ; so much so, " that 
the * testimony of Jesus was the spirit of prophecy" — 
" the spirit of Christ which was in them, testifying be- 
forehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that 
should follow/' Amid the pomp of royalty, if mon- 
archs pined wifh a longing for the gratification of which 
they would have bartered their crowns, it was to see him 
who was all their desire and all their salvation. " Many 
kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and 
have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye 
hear, and have not heard them/' Types, altars, obla- 
tions, and all the gorgeous machinery of the temple, 
were but shadows of the promised mercy. In short, 
wherever among the Hebrews "righteous men" were 
found, the consummation of all their desires would have 
been to witness the ingress of the Prince of Peace ; and 
in every Hebrew woman's bosom, concealed but glowing, 
there was such an ambition of the honor afterward con- 
ferred upon Mary, that the prophet calls the Saviour 
"the desire of women" — the fondest, highest, holiest 
dream of the sex terminating in the bliss of becoming 
mother to that Son whom a virgin was to bear, whose 
name would " be called Immanuel, Wonderful, Coun- 
selor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and of whose 
government and peace there should be no end." 

Up to this point, then, in all ages preceding the 



364 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

birth of Christ, you see how that wonderful epiphany 
was the engrossing theme of piety and inspiration. And 
here let me repeat two important remarks which have 
been already made, and which we should always take 
with us when jDerusing the books of the Old Testament. 
The first is, that during this period the expectation of a 
wonderful personage to change and mould the destiny of 
the world was not confined to the Jews, but was diffused 
through the earth. It was impersonated in Melchisedec; 
it sustained the* sufferer of Idumea, who, when all was 
desolation around and within, exclaimed, " I know that 
my Eedeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the lat- 
ter day upon the earth ;" it fired the lips of Balaam ; it 
was scattered over Asia, Africa, Sicily, and the 'islands 
of the Archipelago, and from thence was conveyed to 
Rome, and treasured among those Sibylline oracles which 
even the wisest men revered as sacred ; and it prevailed, 
as Tacitus and Suetonius inform us, most anciently, all 
over the East. • 

This is one striking fact, and the other is, the exist- 
ence everywhere of sacrifices, and the faith of appeasing 
the Deity by blood, by the substitution of the innocent 
for the guilty. Unite now these two truths, and how in- 
contestable is the assertion, that from the fall to the ad- 
vent of Jesus Christ, there was a general expectation of 
the mighty victim of Calvary, which justifies the appli- 
cation to him of this title, " the Desire of all nations/' 

We come now to the great advent ; and as the na- 
tivity, and afterward the public manifestation of the 
Saviour approach, the truth I am urging becomes con- 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 365 

firmed on all hands, and the earth is agitated by pre- 
monitions and prognostications exciting the most intense 
concern. In the West, at Rome, the metropolis of the 
earth ; and only a few years before the appearance of 
Christ, Julius Cassar seeks to subvert the liberties of his 
country, aspiring to a throne ; and by what argument is 
his claim supported ? His friends appeal to an oracle 
in the temple, predicting a king to arise at that time 
whose reign should be without bounds, and whose gov- 
ernment should secure the happiness of mankind. And 
in a work almost contemporaneous with the birth at 
Bethlehem, the most celebrated of the Latin poets re- 
hearses this oracle, declaring it was now about to be ac- 
complished, and employing, as to the wonderful offspring, 
almost the very images and language of Isaiah himself. 
In the East, the light to enlighten the Gentiles is not 
only seen from afar, but shines so clearly, that the sages 
leave their homes and studies, and repair to the birth- 
place, doing homage to the kingly Star of Jacob. 

Above all, in Judea, and ft the scene of this amaz- 
ing mystery, how is everything in commotion, and from 
every Quarter what notes of preparation ! Does the He- 
brew enter the temple or walk the streets of Jerusalem? 
he sees the most devout and venerable of his nation bend- 
ing with years, yet rejoicing that- even -their fading eyes 
should " behold the consolation of Israel." Does he leave 
the city ? among the hills, and buried in cells upon the 
mountains, he finds those holy hermits of whom Jose- 
phus speaks, absorbed with the immediate coming of 
Messiah, waiting to form his escort, and vindicating their 



356 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

sublime hope by prophecies not to be mistaken. From 
out the dreary depths of the wilderness, and along the 
verdant banks of the Jordan, resounds perpetually the 
voice of a most extraordinary man, an austere herald, 
who has drawn all eyes upon him as a prophet " with 
the spirit and power of Elias," and who still utters the 
startling cry, " Prepare ye the way of the Lord ; make 
straight in the desert a highway for our God/' In fine, 
my brethren, so eager and universal was the expectation* 
of a great deliverer, thg,t as soon as John appeared, mul- 
titudes flocked and crowded about him ; and the inquiry 
" Art thou he ? Art thou he ?"*a question never before 
proposed to any of the prophets, now breaks from their 
impatient lips, and if they surrender their convictions, it 
is most reluctantly, and only when the Baptist " con- 
fesses and denies not, but confesses that he is not the 
Christ/' but merely his harbinger, and not worthy to 
perform even the most menial office, such as unloosing 
his sandals, for that exalted personage. 

. Nor, my brethren (thdllgh it is out of place to make 
the remark here), was the sensation felt by the inhab- 
itants of this earth alone. Other and very different 
orders of intelligences were moved at the astonishing 
phenomenon. On the night when the Saviour was born, 
hell, I make no doubt, stood aghast and marshalled all 
its forces, and commenced in Herod and the massacre of 
the children, that infernal conspiracy which pursued the 
Kedeemer through his life, and seemed to triumph, but 

* Luke, iii. 15 : " And as the people were in expectation, and all men 
mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ," etc. 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 367 

was most gloriously discomfited at the cross. And all 
heaven, we are expressly informed, was filled with a 
sympathy most thrilling and ecstatic. Man those glorious 
beings had known in Eden, and had loved with the love 
of a brother for a younger sister. The dismal hour of 
man's fall they had witnessed ; nor can any tell their 
emotions when, amid the bowers of Paradise, there rang 
that shriek, Death, death is in the world ! And now 
when the brightness of the Father's glory stoops to that 
world, and on such an errand, what wonder and rapture 
seize their adoring thoughts. All along their radiant, 
countless files, roll anthems of high exultation, and 
then, wheeling down, they pour upon the listening ears 
of Palestine -the music of the skies. 

Yes, my brethren, not only on this scene of his love 
and grief, but in other and distant places were felt the 
communications of unutterable interest when the Day- 
spring from on high visited us. And if, when he came, 
the world knew him not, and honored him not, he was 
not without honor, such as no mere creature can receive. 
True, no star formed by mortal hands would ever glitter 
upon his breast, for he was to be despised and rejected 
of men ; but a star made by eternal hands moves along 
tttfe heavens, and stopping in reverence, showers its lustre 
upon his cradle. No illuminated capital or palace hails 
his approach, for he comes at midnight, and in a humble 
village,*but " the glory of the Lord shines around/' and 
beams from the Shekinah irradiate the earth. No troops 
of admiring courtiers welcome the incarnate God — no ! 
low lies his head in a manger, and among the herds of 



368 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

the stall ; but a retinue of strong and immortal cheru- 
bim and seraphim adore the Lord of glory, and shake 
the night air of Galilee with praises for that birth which 
would give " glory to God in the highest, and on earth 
peace, good-will toward men/' 

The Expectation of all nations shall come. You now 
perceive, my brethren, with what propriety, in tins view, 
the Saviour is called " the Desire of all nations/' As in 
those regions where the sun is hid for months, all console 
themselves with anticipations of his light, and turn in- 
stinctively to the point where he will appear, and, when 
the dawn approaches, abandon then' pursuits, and dress 
themselves in their richest garments, and ' climb the 
highest hills to greet his first rays, so was* it with the 
Sun of righteousness. The expectation of a deliverer 
cheered the earth in its gloomiest darkness. As the ful- 
ness of time drew near, the gaze of all settled upon that 
quarter where the Luminary was to arise, the pious and 
the wise secluded themselves from all their avocations, 
and, in the sublimest faith and loftiest contemplations, 
watched for that morning which was to know no niofht 
but forever give light to them who sat in darkness and 
the shadow of death, and guide the wretched in the way 
of peace. * 

But it is time to pass to our second article, and to 
consider this title of the Saviour in another view, and 
with reference to the wants of mankind ; for as ^regards 
these also, he is emphatically " the Desire of all nations.'' 

II. The words rendered " the Desire of all nations/* 
mean in fact, the w r ant, the good needed, the grand 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 369 

desideratum of all the people of the earth. Nor, were 
this the place, would it be difficult to vindicate the text 
thus considered, both politically and socially, and to 
prove that those nations upon whom the gospel shines, 
occupy summits gilded and gladdened by the orb of day, 
while all others are still in the deep valleys not yet pene- 
trated by his rays. Why, my brethren, look abroad upon 
the governments of the earth. Who need be told that 
righteousness exalteth a nation, that Christianity alone 
can inbreed and nourish true patriotism, and that what- 
ever be tne form of civil polity, it will prove a blessing 
or a scourge, just as rulers obey or violate the precepts 
of the gospel ? And so, too, as to the arts and sciences, 
as to liberty and order, as to every virtue which adorns 
a people (and woe, above all lands, to this republic, when 
such virtues come to be worn only with a loose and dis- 
hevelled decency), in all these respects, while it is true 
that each age and nation hath its peculiar character, how 
unequivocal is the testimony of history, that the charac- 
ters of all depend upon the infusion or rejection of the 
principles of the gospel. 

I am not, however, a politician or a philosopher, but 
a preacher. It is not my design to speak of political or 
ethical defects, but of wants far more profound and 
pressing — the wants of the soul, the necessities of the 
immortal spirit, exigencies which no earthly scheme of 
polity, or philosophy, or religion, has ever even recog- 
nized, but which the gospel both reaches and abundantly 
satisfies. The entire system of the Bible, indeed, and 
every provision of the gospel, has this great peculiarity : 

16* 



370 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

it addresses man as carrying within him the consciousness 
of wants overlooked by all teachers except Jesus Christ — 
wants which make him poor, and blind, and naked, and 
miserable, while he pretends to be rich and increased in 
goods. Christianity takes for granted a guilt and ruin, 
such as no human expedient could meet. It is precisely 
on this account — it is because of its exact adaptation to 
all the dreadful emergencies of our condition, that the 
great salvation has triumphed and must triumph ; that 
Jesus must reign till he hath put all enemies under his 
feet ; that Christ lifted up will draw all men unto him ; 
that all nations shall call him blessed, and that unto 
him shall the gathering of the people be. And if you 
do not already feel all the force of this truth, sutler me 
to explain it to you. 

In the first place, then, my hearers, wherever a human 
being is found, there will be found a conscience- 1 — a moral 
sense ; ignorant perhaps, perhaps stupefied, but still as- 
serting, at least periodically, its mysterious power, and 
reverberating through all the chambers of the soul, those 
thunders which awe and terrify the guilty. " This is 
the curse which goeth forth over the face of the whole 
earth/' and secretly appals the proudest, and flashes in 
upon the hardest, through all their steel and adamant, 
convictions that cleave, and agitate, and shake the soul 
with terror ; nor from this pressure of unpardoned sin 
has man ever found, nor will man ever find, deliverance 
but by the blood of Christ. Let men affect to despise 
the gospel, and seek to persecute its ministers and sti2? 
its light : that gospel has in their bosoms a ministry they 



THE DESIKE OF ALL NATIONS. 371 

cannot resist, a radiance they cannot extinguish ; and 
while their hands are reeking with persecution, the fell 
murderers of Christ, the ruthless, ferocious Saul, the 
cruel jailor, ask what they must do to be saved. Let 
men plunge into excesses, and seek in vice and revelry to 
drown the inward forebodings, the fearful looking-for of 
judgment : " Though they dig into hell," saith God, 
by his prophet, " thence 'shall my hand take them; 
though they bury themselves in the bottom of the sea, I 
will command the serpent to sting them there ;" and 
Belshazzar, amid his delirious carousals, and Felix, tri- 
umphant in all his schemes of rapine and voluptuous- 
ness, find their faces gathering paleness, and their frames 
shivering with terrors they cannot conceal. In a word, 
let men seek by mere repentance to atome for guilt : it is 
in vain. Everywhere the imploring cry is heard, for 
some medium, some mediator between God and man. 
Wherever humanity is diffused, there the deep, earnest, 
imploring exclamation is, u Wherewith shall I come be- 
fore the Lord, and bow myself before the high God ; 
shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with 
calves of a year old ; will the Lord be pleased with 
thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of 
oil ; shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the 
fruit of my body for the sin of my soul ?" and blood, 
blood flowing in every land, altars groaning with vic- 
tims., hecatombs smoking with gore, lacerating hooks 
and torturing pilgrimages, the reddened axles of Jugger- 
naut, and the wail of anguished women on the Ganges, 
attest the inefficacy of repentance to give peace to the 



512 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

conscience. No, my brethren, the great. want of a guilty 
world is the atonement of Calvary. It is the Lamb of 
God alone who taketh away the sin of the world. To 
him John, the great preacher and impersonation of re- 
pentance, pointed ; in him there is a redundancy of merit 
for the vilest ; from his cross there floats down a voice, 
saying, "Look unto me and be saved, all ye ends of the 
earth \" And in this view, how truly is the Saviour 
" the Desire of all nations/' bringing " peace to them 
that are nisjh and to them that are afar off/' 

Guilt. To the want produced by guilt, add now 
that created by the corruption which sin hath shed 
through our nature, blinding the mind, perverting the 
wil], and not only encasing the heart in obduracy, but 
filling it with eamity to God ; a corruption so entire, 
and universal, and self-propagating that the Bible em- 
ploys, in portraying it, the most frightful image, and 
pronounces all men not only without life, but dead — 
meaning by death not merely the absence, but the oppo- 
site of life ; death as a principle, a power so active, so 
terrific in its destructive energy, that in a few hours it 
reduces to # a mass of disgusting putrefaction all the vigor 
and beautv which the more sluggish element of life had 
been for years maturing and perfecting. "AH," say the 
Scriptures, " are dead, dead in trespasses and sins." Such 
is the natural condition of the whole world : and were 
men left to themselves, this corruption, this virus, this 
leprous essence, would forever work, and spread, and 
forever feed the deathless w r orm and the quenchless fire. 
And as most gloriously " the Life of the world," as he 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 373 

who " has come that we may have life, and have it more 
abundantly" than by the first infusion ; that the Spirit 
may quicken, and purify, and renovate, and pour into 
the imperishable fabric the elixir of immortal strength 
and vigor — in this view, how truly is Jesus " the Desire 
of all nations." 

In fine, take but one thought more : the just anger 
of Grod — that wrath which hangs in unmitigated black- 
ness over a guilty world, and from which there is no 
refuge but at the cross of Christ. The wrath of God, 
my hearers, is a calamity without a name — a calamity 
which none can comprehend — which it will require eter- 
nity to comprehend and deplore ; and even the possibility 
of incurring it must fill a reflecting mind with unspeaka- 
ble concern and alarm. In heaven it once burned a little, 
and, promptly as the peal follows the flash, came the 
crisis upon the crime. Forthwith, without any waiting 
for a second offence, without hope or respite, angels were 
weeded 'out of their "first estate." Radiant cherubim 
and seraphim, the choice and prime of all the celestial 
hierarchy, withered into devils, and sank all flaming into 
hell, flung from eternal splendor down to bottomless 
perdition, where they now lie, "reserved in everlasting 
chains, under darkness, unto the judgment of the great 
day." And not only are all the children of Adam, 
" children of wrath," but all hear the premonition, all 
hear that cry, "Flee from the wrath to come." All 
know that the consciousness of guilt is the prophecy of 
vengeance ; and, until sheltered in Jesus, all stand help- 
less and hopeless, exposed to the lurid cloud which is 



• 374 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

only suspended for a while — only waits till it shall have 
Leon charged and burdened with storms, and fires, and 
every deadly material, when it will break and beat for- 
ever on their heads, and pour a deluge of eternal wrath 
upon their souls. And in this view is not Christ — that 
Jesus who " hath delivered us from the wrath to come" 
— O ! is he not " the Desire of all nations ?" 

It would be easy to multiply details on this article, 
but I must not. It were easy to show, that in reference 
to the most profound and pressing necessities of man, 
the gospel is the great desideratum — literally the one 
thing needful. The spiritual wants of every age, and 
clime, and class, declare how worthy of all acceptation is 
the faithful saying ; and the assertion would not be at all 
extravagant, should I use the image of the apostle, and 
say, that where Christ is not known, the earnest expecta- 
tion of the creature waiteth for his manifestation, and the 
whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together, 
for a deliverance he alone can bestow. Justice pursues; 
vengeance thunders ; consciences shoots its clear and 
ghastly flashes ; Satan sways his baleful sceptre ; death 
" reigns over all/' trampling the nations under the hoofs 
of that terrible pale horse ; and after death, " hell fol- 
lows." Such is the state of man ; nor is there any hope 
for him but in the Eedeemer. Until that Sun of eter- 
nity arise, a canopy of perdition and despair envelops 
him, " clouds and ever during dark surround him," he 
turns on every side 

" Eyes that roll in vain, 
To find the piercing ray, and find no dawn." 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 375 

III. Our last article requires scarcely a word from 
me. Here I had proposed to consider the epithet " Desire'' 
as synonymous with happiness, but it cannot be neces- 
sary to prove that the happiness of all must be found in 
Christ. Not that all feel this, for men, alas ! ignorant 
on all subjects, are most ignorant as to what constitutes 
their true felicity, and thus call that good which they 
love, and reject and hate the gospel which condemns 
their sins. Yet it is not less true, that only Jesus can 
confer true happiness ; he alone can say, " Come unto 
me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give 
you rest/' 

Happiness, because the mind of man can rejoice only 
in truth,* and Christ is " the truth." Without him, we 
grope darkling in mazes of error, and are perplexed and 
wretched amid doubts and speculations as to all it most 
concerns us to know. Happiness, because the heart of 
man can only be satisfied with objects worthy of it, and 
Christ alone proposes those objects — objects which fix 
the heart, but without which the passions wander in un- 
rest and pining through creation, fretting themselves 
with things gross and sensual, whose possession only 
stings us into a consciousness of our immortality, and 
whose best gifts are only a pleasing degradation. Hap- 
piness, lastly, because God is the life of the soul, and 
Christ alone reveals this being, and reinstates us in his 
favor and love. To be without Christ, say the Scrip- 
tures, is to be without God ; and to be without God, is 
to be severed from the supreme good, to be cut off from 
the source of all joy, to have our souls cursed and blasted 



376 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

now, and dying thus, they must become forever most 
desolate and wretched — the orphans of the universe, the 
outcasts of eternity. But, as I said, a word here will 
suffice. 

The subject, my brethren, on which you have been 
addressed, is one very dear to me, not only for its inter- 
est, but as the common joy and glory of all Christians. 
It is because the disciples of Jesus wander from the cross 
that they are separated, and walk over hidden fires for- 
ever flaming up in controversy. As they gather around 
this sacred altar, one heart glows in every breast, and all 
the elements of strife are malted and fused into one 
monopolizing love for God and for each other. 

And now, in applying this discourse, what shall I 
say ? Why, my hearers, the very entrance of such a 
being into this world, and the mission of which • this 
earth was the theatre, how astonishing and absorbing. 

j 9 o o 

There are times in the . lives of all men, when we feel 
that we are not all matter ; w T hen our thoughts wander 
far away from the finite and mutable, and become familiar 
with eiernity ^ when our souls are agitated with the mys- 
tery of that eternal Spirit by which they are encompassed 
— are athirst for God — and ascending to the perfect and 
ever-glorious, exclaim, in the language of Philip, " Show 
us the Father, and it sufficeth us/' 

My brethren, that God, that eternal Spirit, has rent 
the veil and shown himself in our midst. The Word 
which " in the beginning was with God, and was God, 
was made flesh, and dwelt among us." " Christ Jesus 
has come into the world/' And, now, what, movement 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 377 

should stir our minds ? In Christ, " God was manifest 
in the flesh/' He is " the image of the invisible God," 
" the brightness of the Father's glory, and express image 
of his person." " He that hath seen me, hath seen the 
Father." In his temper, the character of the Deity was 
impersonated ; in his life, the attributes of the Deity 
were embodied ; in his cross, the very heart of the Deity 
is disclosed to our love. What a being ! Search cre- 
ation through, explore the universe, scale all heights, 
fathom all depths — no such object can be found for the 
admiring, adoring contemplations of the mind, the imag- 
ination, the heart. 

Having gazed upon this wonderful being, think next 
of the enterprise on which he came, and the cost at 
which . that enterprise was achieved. The enterprise, 
think of that — it was the salvation of man. The devils 
saw him, and exclaimed, "What have ive to do ivith 
theQ ?" As if they had said, " Thou hast not come to 
save us." No, they had nothing to do with him ; but 
we have everything to do with him ; since he came for 
us men and our salvation. 0, when the Invisible steps 
forth upon this scene of visible things, on such a mis- 
sion, and in such a form, must not our hearts yield, 
melt,*love, worship, adore ? 

The enterprise — and then, the cost. From everlast- 
ing there he sat, the princely majesty of the universe, 
amid admiring, adoring thrones, and principalities, and 
powers, who drank in love and blessedness from his 
smiling countenance, and forever caused the golden at- 
mosphere to reecho his praises. But he left all. He 



378 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

abdicated all " the throne and equipage of God's almight- 
111088/' There was something sweeter to his heart than 
all the harmonies and ecstacies of heaven. It was mercy 
— it was pity for our wretchedness — and he came, he 
flew, he stooped and took our nature in its meanest and 
most mournful conditions. And, in this nature, what 
sufferings did he not endure — sufferings which destroyed 
his life, though they could not destroy his love. Think 
of these, and how are you affected ? " Christ/' says 
Peter, " hath once suffered for sins, the just for the un- 
just ;" but in that once, what sufferings were not con- 
centrated. Ah, miserable sinner, from eternity had the 
only-begotten reposed in the bosom of the Father, and 
now see him leaving that bosom and taking the form of 
a servant for you. From eternity had the fairest among 
ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely, been rich 
in the glories and hosannas of the skies ; and now see 
him becoming poor for you — so poor that, living, he had 
not where to lay his head ; and dying, he would have 
been buried, but for charity, like a common malefactor, 
by the highway side. Follow the adorable Jesus from 
scene to scene of ever deepening insult and sorrow, 
tracked everywhere by spies hunting for the precious 
blood. Behold his sacred face swollen with tear^ and 
stripes. And, last of all, ascend Mount Calvary, and 
view there the amazing spectacle ; earth and hell gloating 
on the gashed form of the Lord of glory ; men and devils 
glutting their malice in the agony of the Prince of life ; 
and all the scattered rays of vengeance which would have 
consumed our guilty race, converging and beating in focal 






THE DESIRE OF ALL *TATIONS. 379 

intensity upon him, of whom the Eternal twice exclaimed, 
in a voice from heaven, " This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased/' After this, what are our emotions? 
Can we evef be cold or faithless ? No, my brethren, it 
is impossible, unless we forget this Saviour, and lose 
sight of that cross on which he poured out his soul 
for us. 

That is an affecting passage in Eoman history, which 
records the death of Manlius. At night, and on the 
Capitol, fighting hand to hand, had he repelled the 
Gauls, and saved the city when all seemed lost. After- 
ward he was accused, but the Capitol towered in sight 
of the Forum where he was tried, and, as he was about 
to be condemned, he stretched out his hands and pointed, 
weeping, to that arena of his triumph. At this, the 
people burst into tears, and the judges could not pro- 
nounce sentence. Again the trial proceeded, but was 
again defeated ; nor could he be convicted until they 
had removed him to a low spot, from which the Capitol 
was invisible. And behold, my brethren, what I am 
saying. While the cross is in view, vainly will earth 
and sin seek to shake the Christian's loyalty and devo- 
tion — one look at that purple monument of a love which 
alone, and when all was dark and lost, interposed for our 
rescue — and their efforts will be baffled. Low must we 
sink, and blotted from our hearts must be the memory 
of that deed, before we can become faithless to the Re- 
deemer's cause, and perfidious to his glory. 

But this thought has carried me beyond all bounds. 
I return, and with a single reflection more I finish. That 



3S0 THE DE91RE OF ALL NATIONS. 

reflection regards our duties, and the solemn responsibil- 
ities which the subject charges home upon us all. 

My impenitent hearer, how loudly does the text 
speak to you ; and I cannot sit down witHout asking 
you, What think you of Christ ? How are you treating 
him who came and who seeks to save you ? You have 
heard that he is the desire of all nations ; tell rne, is he 
your desire or aversion ? — will you receive and obey him, 
or are you resolved still to say, " not this man, but Ba- 
rabbas ?"" Becollect, without him you can have no peace 
now — your deej)est, strongest wants must be unsatisfied 
— the whole creation cannot make you happy. Becol- 
lect, you will soon have nothing to do but to die ; then 
"the desire of the wicked shall, perish/' and what will 
become of you ? Soon the Saviour will come again, and 
very differently. " Behold he cometh with clouds, and 
every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him, • 
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him." 
And then, when you call upon mountains to cover you, 
and abysses to shelter you, how will your j>resent con- 
duct appear ? And what a wail will be yours when, 
shattering the air, and shattering your soul, that sentence 
shall be pronounced, " Depart, accursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels I" 

It is, however, to us Christians that the application 
of the text especially belongs at this time, and in our 
bosoms how many thoughts ought it to awaken. True 
(0 blessed be God for this), Jesus Christ is all our desire 
and all our salvation. We know him as such, and our 
souls do magnify the Lord. But, with the possession 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 381 

sion of this blessing, what responsibilities devolve upon 
us ! 

My very dear brethren, is Christ the Desire of all 
nations ? 'Then why are there so many nations still ig- 
norant of Christ ? The "angel declared that the tidings 
should be to all people — why, then, have so many not 
heard those tidings ? The Saviour's command is, " GrO 
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
creature" — why, then, have not the heralds of the gospel 
traversed the earth ? The answer to these questions I 
blush to give ; it is (shame on our covetqusness — the re- 
proach of our country and of our churches), that Chris- 
tians have not done, and will not do, their duty. 

Ah, my brethren, my brethren, just now, as I sur- 
veyed the cross, I pronounced it almost impossible for us 
to be faithless to Christ ; but alas ! when I turn from 
the cross to the conduct of Christians, I have most pain- 
fully to confess my mistake. Where is the Spirit of 
Christ among us ? Upon whom has his mantle fallen, 
all wetted with tears for the perishing ? " When he saw 
the multitudes he was moved with compassion on them, 
because they fainted and were scattered abroad, as sheep 
having no shepherd ;" how few are affected with such a 
sight now. " Five hundred millions of souls/' exclaimed 
a missionary, " are represented as being unenlightened. 
I cannot, if I would, give up the idea of being a mis- 
sionary, while I reflect upon this vast number of my 
fellow-sinners who are perishing for lack of knowledge. 
Five hundred millions ! intrudes itself upon my mind 
wherever I go, and however I am employed. When I go 



382 THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 

to bed it is the last thing that occurs to my memory ; if 
I awake in the night, it is to meditate on it alone, and 
in the morning it is generally the first thing that occu- 
pies my thoughts/' Nor is it only the heathen at a dis- 
tance ; among ourselves how many thousands of the sons 
of Ethiopia are«tretching out their hands, and how have 
they been neglected. My brethren, let us awake to our 
responsibility ere the wrath of God wake us to sleep no 
more, and the cry which goeth up into the ears of the 
Lord of Sabaoth attract his righteous indignation. 

Is Christ the Desire of all nations ? Then, my breth- 
ren, let us preach Christ ; and let our missionaries preach 
Christ. We do not want philosophers, nor metaphysi- 
cians, nor even theologians, but preachers of Christ and 
him crucified. Nor let us fear that God will not open a 
great and effectual door for us, if we are willing to be 
co-workers with him. What am I saying ? My breth- 
ren, how w T ide a door is already open ; and if, instead of 
indolently crying, " There are yet four months and then 
cometh harvest/' we would only "lift up our eyes and 
look on the fields/' upon every side we would see them 
" white and ready to harvest." 

Lastly, is Christ the Desire of all nations ? Then 
how sure is our success. True, we must expect difficul- 
ties, and it is not improbable that, before the gospel 
conquers the earth, there will be many conflicts and con- 
vulsions. But when we consider what God has promised 
and done, how intent and busy is the whole Trinity in 
the grand scheme of salvation, what difficulty can move 
us ? Who can doubt that all events shall conspire to 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 383 

secure Irnmanuel's triumph, and even the passions of the 
world become ministers in its conversion to God ? Many 
of us deprecated and deplored the disruption which lately 
divided our churches, but the man has blind eyes who 
sees not already the hand of God in this ; and he, among 
us, has a cold heart who has not felt a glow at the noble 
conduct of our brethren at the North, and is not fired 
with holy emulation. And thus shall it ever be ; the 
truth shall yet bind kings in chains, and nobles in fetters 
of iron ; the wheels of the Redeemer's chariot move not 
back, but shall roll on until " the Desire" shall become 
the Delight of all nations, and shall reign over them in 
righteousness. All the resources of the universe are in 
the hands of the ascended Jesus. To him the Father 
hath said, " Thy throne, God, is forever and ever ;" and 
the hour hastens on, when the whole earth shall be- 
come a temple, and that temple be filled with the glory 
of the Lord, and echo with the hallelujahs of 

" An assembly such as earth 
Saw never, such as heaven sloops down to see." 

Welcome the glorious consummation ! months, 
and seasons, and years, speed your tardy flight, and usher 
in the blissful period ; that day, when, from every hill 
and valley, shall ascend clouds of incense, to return in 
sparkling showers of mercy ; when, from every human 
heart, shall swell the angelic hymn, Glory to God in the 
highest, on earth peace and good will to men ; when the 
pealing chorus of a renovated world shall answer back 
the thundering acclamations of the skies, and every crea- 



3S4 



THE DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS. 



. tore which is in heaven and on the earth, and such as 
are in the sea, and all k that are in them shall say. Alle- 
luiah ! the Lord God omnipotent reigneth ; Worthy is 
the Lamb that was slain ; Blessing, and honor, and 
glory, and power be unto him that sitteth upon the 
throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. Amen ! 



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